Between Heartbeats
by Syd and Z
Summary: A year after the defeat of Venjix, all the rangers have reunited in Corinth... But not everything is what it seems...
1. Chapter 1

One year. It had been one year, nearly to the day that Summer, Dillon and Tenaya had left Corinth together. A year since they had seen their friends and a lot had happened. As they had expected, they found survivors all across the barren wasteland. It was amazing to the three how some managed to survive outside the dome for so long. There were some stories of loss; widowed spouses, orphaned children, but even still, the volume of survivors found exceeded their expectations.

Summer, Dillon and Tenaya gave as much assistance to the survivors as they could. Early in their travels, Dillon had begun collecting scraps of metal or car parts in case they needed them. As it were, this collection deemed useful when it came to fixing up old and rundown vehicles for the survivors to travel to Corinth. Summer seemed to take a shine to helping the young children and teens who had made it through the entire ordeal.

Meanwhile, Tenaya tended to be a little reserved around the survivors. She would shadow her brother or Summer in case they needed help with whatever project they were undertaking-whether it was fixing an engine, or re-stitching old and tattered stuffed animals for young children-but a part of her was still haunted by her time as Venjix's enforcer. Every time the three encountered a new batch of survivors, Tenaya braced herself for one of them to recognize her. What if this group contained people she and Venjix's drones had terrorized personally? What if they decided to take their revenge?

As fate would have it, her fears seemed to be for no reason. People seemed to recognize her more as a savior, helper than the former destructive minion she had previously been. Never had a displaced survivor ever looked at her with any sort of disdain or anything to otherwise suggest they knew who she had been and what she had done. One widowed mother of four young children had even gone as far as warmly embrace Tenaya's hand while she gushed that the three of them were so kind to assist them so.

None of them had been expecting to receive the welcomes that they did at each different city they stopped at. It had been about halfway through their adventure that they had stumbled across the city of Bayview. The city had been decimated during the initial Venjix attack and had eventually become home to a facility that housed survivors who had been turned into slaves. Soldiers from Corinth had visited the city a mere two months before the trio arrived and placed a small handful of people in charge of the rebuilding process. Upon their arrival, they were quickly introduced to the small contingent of 'authorities'. Charlie, Jack, Devlyn, Cassandra and Samba had each been placed in charge of a different area. As part of the 'deal' worked into place, Devlyn and Samba were to be granted passage to Corinth, as they had been deemed to be 'skilled workers' whose abilities would be required in Corinth. Samba had been the commander of the military in Bayview prior to the attack, and Devlyn was a weapons and technology engineer.

Samba hadn't come across as a military man until he began to chat with the rangers and gave them his account of the events that had occurred during the overthrow of the city. He stood just shy of six feet, with salt and pepper colored hair and kind eyes. During his explanation, he told the group that his family had been murdered in cold blood, right in front of his eyes. Samba's story brought both Tenaya and Summer to tears at the sheer horror of what this man had gone through during the fall of his city. At one point, Dillon had remarked that a lesser man would have given up, and the comment drew a smile from the older man who had replied that he couldn't give up.

Devlyn seemed to be a stark contrast to the older man. For one, she was nearly a foot shorter than him, with dark brown hair, styled in a pixie-cut that framed her heart-shaped face. She was one of the last people that the trio had been introduced to, and her other 'teammates' described her a 'pixie infused firecracker'. None of them realized what that meant until the following day. A young man had entered 'The Hub' which had been come central command for the city and accosted Devlyn for an unauthorized weapon. Reinforcements had come a few moments after an alert was issued, and they discovered the intruder hiding in the corner, beaten, bloodied and cowering in fear from the short woman who stood in the middle of the room, fixing her hair. It was then that Summer, Dillon and Tenaya learned that her nickname was Dev, although there were many survivors in the area who had affectionately renamed her 'Devil'. Over the course of their four week stay, Summer and Dev struck up a quick friendship, and the blond ranger had requested that instead of sending Dev on a transport back to the city, she continue on with them.

Devlyn had been agreeable to this new arrangement, happy to spend the long drive back to Corinth with her new friends. Taking Devlyn to Corinth had raised questions for the original three. Had they decided this was the end of their travels and they were ready to return home, or would this be just a visit? Summer had pushed for them to return to Corinth to stay, claiming she missed their friends, as well as her family, and certainly missed sleeping in a large comfortable bed. Unbeknownst to Dillon, those reasons had only been partly true, but mostly they were a cover. In reality she had begun to grow increasingly worried about Tenaya. She had begun to notice a change in Tenaya, especially in her eyesight. In the beginning, Tenaya's sharp eyes were perfect for threading needles when it came to mending for the survivors. But after some months, Summer had begun to notice Tenaya having trouble with tasks of that nature, not to mention squinting more and rubbing her forehead and temples. The three had been warned Tenaya's optical implants would cease to work after a point, and it looked like that was what was happening. Tenaya had made Summer swear not to bring it up with Dillon, but it didn't stop Summer from worrying how Tenaya would function if they were still out in the wasteland and she went completely blind. It had taken some convincing, and they had ended up staying longer in Bayview than Summer had originally intended before they began their trek back to Corinth.

"Don't you think we should've called or sent a message to the others that we were coming home?" Summer asked as Dillon drove. They had been on the road for five hours and had another day of traveling ahead of them. Dillon shrugged as he kept his eyes on the road.

"Nothing wrong with surprising them," he replied, the corner of his mouth quirking up in a smile.

"I'm sure they'll be excited to see us, warning or not." Tenaya murmured from the backseat of Dillon's car. Summer rolled her eyes.

"I don't doubt that," she said, giving Tenaya a smile from her spot in the passenger seat. "Just thought they'd appreciate the warning," she added with a shrug. "Oh well, it was just a thought."

The group lapsed into silence until Summer spoke. "Are you excited Dev?" She questioned. Devlyn tore her gaze away from the window to look over at Summer from her spot next to Tenaya.

"Yeah, I guess," she said with a half smile. "It'll be nice to be in the city," she nodded.

"Have you been before?" The question came from Dillon who never took his eyes off the road.

"No," she replied. "So, I guess there'll be a fair amount of me getting lost the next few weeks," she chuckled. Summer laughed and shook her head.

"It's not too bad, besides, we'll show you around," she smiled.

"Thanks." Dev smiled in response. The group continued to chat idly for a few more hours into the night. Once it became incredibly dark, Dillon drove to one of the towns in their path. It was a tiny little place that Dillon, Summer and Tenaya had come across a few months before arriving at Bayview. There had been a medium sized cadre of survivors who they had helped on their way to Corinth. The town was empty now, meaning there was free space for the group to rest up for the remainder of their trip.

Dillon drove into the center of the town, where a large residential building stood. "I guess we can each get our own space tonight," Dillon commented as he parked the car.

"As long as the beds aren't yoga mats on the ground, I don't care where we sleep." Dev yawned tiredly from the backseat.

"I think this is the place we saw the mattresses," Tenaya commented as the four got out of the car. Summer nodded as she and Dillon moved to the back of the car.

"Yeah. They were worn thin and not too comfy, maybe just a step above the yoga mats, but it's something," she commented. Dillon opened up the drunk to rummage through their luggage.

"Here's some bed sheets, that should make the mattresses a little more comfortable," he commented as he pulled a large duffel bag and dropped it at his feet to find the cooler packed with water, dinner and the following morning's breakfast.

"Fantastic." Tenaya grinned as she reached down and pulled out a handful and tossed some to Dev and Summer. Dillon hefted out the cooler and swung it across one shoulder while he put the near empty duffle on his other shoulder. Tenaya reached over and slammed the truck shut for him before the four walked into the building. Dillon dropped the cooler on a table in the large resident lounge, figuring they could all reconvene for dinner once they had each picked their sleeping quarters for the night. He watched as Tenaya and Dev walked up the creaky stairs to grab two of the empty apartments on the second floor. Before Summer could follow, Dillon gently took hold of her elbow.

"Feel like bunking together tonight?" He quietly asked. Summer looked up at her boyfriend and smirked softly.

"Why, having any particular ideas?" She teased. Dillon snorted and shook his head.

"Given that any once in the blue moon chance we've been able to be alone, we've always gotten interrupted before any ideas could be put into action, I think I'm just going to have to wait 'till we get to the city," he commented. Summer gave him a sympathetic look and gently touched his cheek. She had no doubt the past year had been hard on him, traveling with not only her and their budding relationship, but his newly reunited with sister. It didn't exactly leave a lot of chances for Summer and Dillon to grow closer physically.

Dillon sighed and leaned into her touch. "Just liking the idea of snoozing together," he smiled. Summer returned the smile and nodded.

"That sounds like a nice idea," she replied.

"I thought you might think so," came his response. Summer took a step closer to him and lightly kissed his lips.

"I'll go find us a place to sleep," she commented, "why don't you stay down here and put dinner out?" She suggested. Dillon nodded and ducked down to give her a kiss.

"Alright," he replied.

"Be back soon." Summer promised with a wink before she departed the room. Dillon watched as she climbed up the stairs, his gaze traveling down her back and landing on her backside. He watched the sight for a moment before quietly groaning and forcing himself to turn away and move back into the lounge.

He focused on putting the food and drinks out while waiting for the trio of women to return. It had been a tough year on all of them, but he felt like it had been the worst for him. He had wanted nothing more than to progress his relationship with Summer to the next level, but given the nearly constant interruptions and seemingly ever present problems that needed fixing, it just never progressed farther than the occasional touch. A part of him wondered if sharing a bed tonight was even a wise idea, given all the pent up sexual frustration coursing through his veins. But in the end, Dillon knew he was willing to suffer another night of unfulfilled urges as long as it meant he could just hold her.

His thoughts were interrupted as Dev moved back into the room, pulling a sweater around her shoulders as she yawned loudly. "It's starting to get cold out." She murmured before throwing herself into one of the old couches in the room, tucking her legs under her body.

"Yeah," Dillon commented as he finished putting out their dinners and closed up the cooler to preseve their breakfasts. "It's a good thing Summer thought to pack up those sheets and blankets," he added.

"Mmhmm." Came the response from the shorter woman. "I hate winter."

"Corinth's pretty far south from here," Dillon commented. "So, it should be a little warmer." Dev smiled.

"Well, that's good," she replied. Outside the room, both could hear descending footsteps as one of the missing two girls came down. Just as the footsteps reached the bottom of the stairs, they stumbled and a voice exclaimed "Whoa." Dillon frowned and went to check beyond the room, before Tenaya walked into the lounge.

"Hey," she said with a forced smile.

"Are you alright?" He asked, concerned. Tenaya shrugged nonchalantly.

"Yeah, I'm alright…just missed a step in the dark," she replied.

"At least you didn't fall." Dev commented, giving her companion a smile. "Stairs suck anyway."

"Yeah," Tenaya chuckled as she moved over to one of the other smaller couches in the room and sat down.

"So what's for dinner?" Came Summer's voice from the doorway as she moved back into the room.

"We've got two packs of chicken…I think one's with mashed potatoes, the others with sweet potato. And the other two look like some type of meat loaf or something….with mashed potatoes vegetables," Dillon replied as he looked at the four packs of food the people in Bayview had put together for them. The selection and portions were incredibly generous. "I don't know if we can heat them up from being in the cooler all day though," he added, glancing around the lounge for something to warm up the food. Dev shrugged as she got up from the couch.

"Eh, cold and edible wins over room temperature and spoiled in my book," she chuckled as she neared the table.

"Agreed." Tenaya grinned as she stood and shuffled towards the table. Summer moved to stand behind Dillon and wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Why don't you and I grab one of each, and share?" She quietly suggested. Dillon smiled and nodded as he gently rubbed the backs of her hands. He picked up one of the meat dishes and the chicken with the sweet potatoes.

"You can have the chicken and mashed potatoes." Tenaya commented as she reached for the meatloaf. "I'm _so_ sick of chicken." She laughed. Dev chuckled and picked up the remaining chicken dish.

"That works for me, I hate vegetables," she commented.

"How can you hate vegetables?" Summer questioned as she settled down on the couch next to Dillon. Dev shrugged.

"Hated them when I was a kid, and I just never grew to like them," she replied as she resumed her spot on the large couch. "I mean, obviously if all there is to eat is veggies, I'll take it in order not to starve," she chuckled, "but if I have a choice…I rather avoid 'em all together."

"Weirdo." Summer teased as she scooped some of the veggies off Dillon's plate. Dev rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at the blonde as she opened up the small packet of utensils that had been taped to each of the packs of food. The group fell into a comfortable silence as they ate their food together. The long hours on the road, and not having had eaten since before they left Bayview, made the four devour their meals at a not so leisurely pace. Before long, their plates and bottles were empty as they relaxed back into the old couches.

"Well," Summer commented as she laid her head on Dillon's shoulder. "We should probably head to bed, if we want to get back on the road early tomorrow."

"How long is the drive into Corinth?" Dev questioned as they stood and began to move to the stairs.

"We got in a lot of driving today," Dillon replied as he let the girls go up the stairs ahead of him. "So it should just be another eight hours," he replied.

"_Just_ eight hours?" Dev commented, rolling her eyes. Summer laughed and shrugged.

"Yeah, but after those eight hours we'll be in the city….nice hot showers, comfy beds, warm food," she happily sighed.

"Screw food and showers." Dev commented as she stopped at her room. "The comfortable beds part sounds the best." The other three simply chuckled at that. "Good night," Dev said before disappearing past the doorway to the room.

"Night." They called out in unison before moving further down the hallway to their rooms.

"Sleep well, guys," Tenaya commented as she came to a stop at her room for the night a few moments later.

"You too." Dillon smiled as he hugged his sister tightly. Tenaya smiled and returned the hug for a moment before the two parted. With a small yawn she gave Dillon and Summer one last wave before walking into her room. As soon as the door closed, Dillon smiled and slipped his arm around Summer's waist and pulled her close. Summer giggled softly and leaned into his embrace as she led the way to the room she had picked out for the two of them.

"I'm gonna let you get changed first." He commented as they stopped in front of their room. "Just open the door when you're done okay?" Summer smiled and nodded as they came to the room at the end of the hall.

"Alright," she replied. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving him and walking into the room. Using the time wisely, Dillon moved towards the bathroom and returned a few moments later to find the door partially open. He walked into the room to find Summer sitting on the large mattress on the floor she had covered with some sheets and a blanket earlier. Her shoes and clothes were in a pile in the corner of the room, while she was only dressed in a long black t-shirt that just came to her mid thigh. Dillon quickly recognized it as one of his, figuring she must've swiped it from his luggage at some point. He groaned good naturedly and shook his head.

"You're not going to make tonight easy, are you?" He chuckled.

"Of course not." She grinned as he slowly closed the door behind him. Dillon gave her a mock glare and shook his head again.

"Why am I not surprised?" He replied as he kicked his shoes off.

"I don't see you protesting too much about it." Summer giggled as he unbuckled his jeans and pushed them down.

"Yeah, well just know, payback's a bitch," he grinned as he kicked his pants aside and pulled his shirt off, leaving him in just his boxers.

"Uh huh, likely story." She giggled as a blush crept across her cheeks as he moved towards their makeshift bed. He lowered himself onto his knees in front of her and placed his hands on her exposed thighs. Summer let out a shaky breath as he slowly dragged his fingers across her exposed skin. Her eyes drifted shut as she felt his hands move up past the hem of the t-shirt, his large hands mere inches away from the apex of her thighs. "What are you doing?" She huskily asked, her body responding to the mere idea of his hands moving up a little further.

"Nothing," Dillon innocently replied as his hands moved back down her thighs. Summer groaned, her hands bracing against the mattress as she leaned back on her arms, her head lulling backwards ever so slightly.

"A likely story," she murmured as Dillon's hands moved back up her thighs.

"Can't say you're not enjoying it." He murmured softly, his breath hitting her cheek before he pressed his lips against hers.

"Of course I'm enjoying it," she murmured, her hips unconsciously shifting forward, encouraging him to keep moving his hands upwards. Chuckling slightly, his hands moved upwards and Dillon allowed his thumbs to slip under the elastic band of her panties. Summer moaned as her hips jerked slightly.

"Problem?" Dillon softly teased as his lips moved to her neck.

"You're not the only one who's had a very long year," Summer replied, her hands moving up to rest on his shoulders.

"I know." He replied softly. Summer's hands moved up to the back of his neck and she guided his lips back to hers.

"Why do I have a feeling you planned this?" Dillon asked between kisses. Summer giggled and kissed the side of his mouth.

"You're the one who started to touch me," she teased.

"Uh huh," Dillon replied, not too convinced this was all his doing. Summer ran her fingers through his hair and shifted closer to him.

"Maybe I was hoping," she admitted in a murmur against his lips. "Figured it'd be a good idea to take a room furthest from Dev and Tenaya, just in case," she added.

"Well, that was a good idea." He agreed after a brief pause. His fingers gently caressed her thighs. "But," he said, somewhat hesitantly.

"But?" Summer asked, pulling back slightly to look at him. Dillon sighed and slowly pulled his hands off her thighs. He set them on either side of her on the bed.

"…I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I want to wait," he replied. Summer frowned as her eyebrows shot up.

"Wait? This whole year's been a long wait, for the both of us. We've been there and done that…I would've thought that us being alone would be end of waiting," she stated. Dillon chuckled and leaned closer to kiss her chin.

"Believe me; a part of me is mentally kicking myself right now. But, a bigger part feels like…if we've waited this long….our first time together being in…well, a crap shack, in the middle of nowhere, on an old and worn out mattress….it just doesn't feel right." Summer blinked, taken aback by his statement. She hadn't really thought about it in that aspect.

"Oh." She replied softly. Dillon smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"When we finally are together like that, I want it to be perfect for you," he softly stated. "Comfortable bed, candles, maybe even some soft cheesy music and rose petals, if I can swing it," he chuckled. Summer giggled and rested her forehead against his.

"That's sweet, but I don't need all that," she murmured. "I'll give you that…okay, comfortable bed, back home, would be nice. But, all that other stuff? I could take it or leave it."

"As long as it's you and me?" He picked up where she had left off.

"Exactly," she smiled, tilting her head to kiss the tip of his nose. "Just you, me, a comfy bed, and a door that locks from the inside," she grinned. Dillon laughed loudly as he rolled onto his side and pulled Summer with him. Summer giggled and shifted close to him as he pulled the covers up. Once both were lying as comfortably as they could, Summer placed her head on his chest and sighed happily. "So," she asked, "this perfect night you want us to have….you planning on doing it in my room, or yours?" She grinned. Dillon was quiet for a moment as he held her close.

"Well...I was thinking maybe we could have an 'our' room, once we get back," he quietly replied.

Slowly, Summer lifted her head to look at him. "Really?" Came her soft question. Dillon gazed down at her and nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "I mean…only if you want," he carefully asked, worried that that was not something she had in mind.

"I'd like that." She replied as her cheeks tinted pink. "Although, it is still the garage." She added as an afterthought.

"You'd rather we try and find our own place when we get back to Corinth?" He asked. Summer shrugged and laid her head back down.

"Maybe?" She replied. "I mean….I'm not saying we look at real estate listings the second we arrive at Corinth. But, maybe someday soon? I don't know, it's worth thinking about, I guess," she replied.

"If that's something you'd like, we can do that." Dillon smiled as he began to rub her back gently. Summer smiled and snuggled closer to him.

"Maybe we can find a place near the garage, or two places close together. You know, for Tenaya," she commented. She knew Dillon would need to be near his sister. Though they certainly had rebuilt their sibling bond in the past year, she wasn't about to suggest they be parted, even by a mile or two, at a time like this. Not only because of Dillon, but because she knew Tenaya would need her brother close by.

Dillon smiled and gave Summer a tender squeeze. "That would be nice," he replied.

"Hence why I suggested it." She giggled softly. Dillon chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"Well, I'm just expressing my appreciation for your suggestion," he cheekily replied. "Of course you are." Summer grinned as she poked him. Dillon laughed and kissed her forehead.

"Alright, let's go to sleep," he replied.

"Good idea." Came her soft response as she snuggled closer to him. Dillon pulled the covers up a little higher to come up over their shoulders so they wouldn't get cold during the night. He gave her forehead one more kiss before lying his head back and settling in to sleep.

Dillon awoke long before Summer did the following morning. Knowing that they had to be on the road fairly soon, he slowly extracted himself from her embrace and began to collect his discarded clothes so that he could have a shower before breakfast. After he had finished showering and dressed, he headed back to the main level of the building. Dillon was surprised to see that Dev was standing in front of the window, her back to him as he descended the stairs. "You're up early." He commented as he stepped into the room and pulled the cooler onto the table. Dev gave a shrug before she turned around.

"I guess I'm too excited about getting to Corinth to sleep in," she replied.

"Understandable." Dillon nodded as he opened the cooler and began to take the food out. Dev rubbed her eyes for a moment before reaching for a bottle of water.

"So, what's on the menu?" She asked as she watched Dillon pull out the packets of food.

"Looks like eggs and sausage patties," he replied.

"Yum." She grimaced slightly before taking the package he handed her. Dillon chuckled at her expression.

"Not a fan of eggs either? Or the sausage?" He asked.

"When you spend a year eating the same, tasteless food over and over again, you tend to not be a fan of much." Came the response. "You know what I've wanted to eat since the city fell? Ice cream... I think I could eat a gallon and be completely happy." Dillon smiled and nodded, understanding what she meant. There were quite a few foods he missed while being on the road.

"Well, there's definitely plenty of ice cream in Corinth," he commented.

"Thank god," Dev said, with a wide smile.

"I'm gonna go get Tenaya and Summer." He commented after a moment. "Feel free to start eating... Sooner we're done, the sooner we can get on the road."

"Got'cha," Dev replied as she settled down on one of the couches and opened up the packet of food. Dillon was halfway up the stairs when his sister emerged from her room, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Morning." She commented with a smile.

"Good morning," he replied, smiling right back at her. "How'd you sleep?" He asked.

"Good, you?" Came the response as she sat down on the top step.

"Pretty good," he replied with a nod. "Breakfast's out downstairs," he commented, jutting his thumb over his shoulder. "Dev's already down there eating."

"Awesome." Tenaya grinned as she stood. "I'm starving." She stepped around her brother and walked down the rest of the stairs.

"I'll be there in a sec, just want to make sure Summer's awake," Dillon commented as he climbed up the rest of the way.

"Uh huh." Came his sister's laugh as she descended the stairs. Dillon rolled his eyes and walked down to the end of the hall to where he had left Summer sleeping. The door was still open as much as it had been when he had left before. "Time to wake up gorgeous." He commented softly as he swung the door open. His eyes widened and his mouth fell agape at the sight he was greeted with. Summer stood beside their bed, wearing nothing but a pair of yellow boy shorts, her back to him. Gasping slightly, her arms flew to cover her naked chest before she turned slightly to look at him.

"Uh... Hi." Summer blushed as her hands gripped tighter around her chest.

"I…..uh….I…" Dillon stammered as he found himself unable to look away. After a few moments, his mental capacities finally regain function and he quickly turned his back to her to give her some privacy. "I'm sorry," he hurriedly said. "I should've knocked….or…something…..I'm sorry," he continued to sputter.

"It's partially my fault too." Summer mumbled as she quickly grabbed her bra and yanked it on before doing the same with her jeans and top. "I should have closed the door."

"Still…I shouldn't have just barged in here," Dillon replied. Summer sighed as she finished buttoning up her jeans.

"You can…um…turn back around," she softly commented, her cheeks still blushing furiously. Ever so slowly, Dillon turned back around so that he was facing Summer.

"I'm sorry," he stated one last time. Summer giggled nervously and shook her head.

"You've said that already," she replied.

"I feel like I need to keep saying it." He murmured, glancing downwards. Summer slowly walked closer to him and took his face in her hands to make him look at her.

"It's okay," she told him. "You don't need to keep apologizing," she assured him.

"Okay." Dillon agreed after a long moment. Summer smiled and lightly kissed his lips. After a moment, they broke away.

"Although, it's going to take a long time to get that image out of my head." Dillon grinned cheekily. Summer's blush intensified as she giggled.

"Well, hey, I guess it's payback for your sleepwear, or lack thereof, last night," she replied, lightly poking his chest. "Do you have any idea how hard it was to just go to sleep with you in nothing but your underwear?" She said with a mock glare.

"Well, I think you'll have to get used to it." He chuckled gently. "That's how I sleep normally." Summer rolled her eyes and heaved a heavy sigh.

"I guess I will have to get used to it, if we're going to be sharing a room back home," she giggled. Grinning, Dillon kissed her softly.

"And what about you Ms. Landsdown? What do you normally sleep in?" He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. Summer laughed at that.

"I don't know," she coyly replied. "I guess it depends on my mood, or what I'm doing before going to sleep," she added with a cheeky grin. Dillon groaned loudly as he was assaulted with a mental image of what he had been a few minutes before.

"So unfair." He chuckled after a moment. Summer giggled and kissed the top of his nose.

"Oops," she replied.

"Uh huh, I doubt that." He laughed before pulling her into a hug. "Come on gorgeous, we should eat breakfast and head out."

"Alright," Summer smiled. She stepped away from Dillon to quickly finish packing up their things. It didn't take long for Summer to finish putting everything away, and Dillon waited patiently by the door for her. "Ready." She commented, stepping towards him and slipping her hand into his. Dillon smiled and lightly squeezed her hand as he took their bags from her with his free hand and slipped them over his shoulder.

"Look who decided to join us." Dev commented a few moments later as they finally moved into the open space of the lounge. Tenaya bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

"Good morning to you too," Summer chuckled as she and Dillon approached the table to grab the remaining packs of food. The couple sat across from Dev and Tenaya and tucked into their food quickly, knowing that their time was precious and they had to be on their way soon. It didn't take long for Dillon and Summer to devour the packages of food they had taken. "I think we can head out." Dillon commented as he began to clean up the table, noting that there were still six bottles of water in the cooler. "Although water might be a bit of an issue today." He added as an afterthought.

"We could refill the empty bottles from last night," Tenaya suggested.

"I'm not sure if the water here is all that safe to drink," Summer replied.

"It's not." Dev commented. "This city used to be home to a lot of waste-water treatment plants and after it fell, the plants were destroyed, so there was no way to treat the water other than to boil it."

"And since the survivors we found here cooked their food on open flames and charcoal grills, I think its safe to assume the stoves don't work," Dillon commented. "It looks like we're going to have to share and ration out the water we have left for the rest of the way."

"Could be worse." Dev commented as they finished packing their items up. "Humans can survive up to three days without water." Dillon nodded.

"I think if between the four of us, we can make one bottle last at least an hour or hour and a half, we'll be more than fine," he agreed.

"Oh, that shouldn't be a problem," Summer commented.

"It'd be a lot harder if it were just one or two bottles." Tenaya stated as they began to load their items into Dillon's trunk.

"Good point," Summer commented. Dillon glanced down at his watch before looking back at his companions.

"We need to head out." He commented. "If we don't leave now, we're not getting into Corinth before nightfall."

"Alright," Dev nodded as she stepped back to let Dillon slam his trunk shut. Once Dillon had shut the trunk, the four climbed into the car. It didn't take long for the group to fall into silence as they began the last leg of their trip back to Corinth. Dev had tucked her legs under her body and drifted to sleep while Tenaya took to staring out the window. Eventually, both Summer and Tenaya drifted off as well and remained asleep for a good portion of the trip. Dev awoke a few hours after the other two had fallen asleep, her eyes darting around frantically as she had woken herself up from a nightmare. Her eyes caught Dillon's in the rearview mirror.

"You okay?" He questioned as he handed her one of the bottles of water he had taken out when he had stopped for a break.

"Yeah," Dev replied, her voice a little shaky as she reached up and took the bottle from him, "thanks," she added.

"No problem." He nodded before refocusing his eyes on the road. There was silence for a time as Dev sipped the water and calmed herself down. "Nightmares are never fun." Dillon commented softly. "If you want someone to talk to..." Dev snapped her head towards him. Clearly he knew that she had been having a nightmare, but he seemed slightly uncomfortable that offering her his help.

"It's nothing," she quietly insisted as she recapped the bottle.

"If you're sure." Dillon shrugged before turning back to the road. Dev set the bottle down on the space between herself and Tenaya in the backseat before leaning back and staring out her window. It was nearly four hours later that the car began to slow and Dillon reached over and shook Summer's leg softly, before reaching back and tapping his sister's leg lightly. "Guess where we are." He commented as they were stirred from sleep. The car crested a sandy hill before Summer smiled.

"Home." She breathed happily. The sun was just beginning to set on the formerly domed city. Dillon smiled and continued to drive into the city. The checkpoint station into the city replaced the former gate that had separated the city from the wasteland, was slightly farther than Dillon had anticipated. It took them a good thirty minutes to arrive at the station. The guards brought out their scanning equipment and checked the car over before requesting their identification. Wordlessly, the girls handed over the requested items to Dillon, who passed them onto the guard. The guards looked over the items, seeming to balk slightly at Dillon and Summer's credentials.

"Oh…I…I'm sorry Ms. Landsdown…Mr…uh…Mr. Dillon," one of the guards said. "We didn't recognize you."

"It's alright," Summer replied with a smile.

"Welcome home," the guard said, smiling at the group in hopes their mistake of not recognizing two former rangers would be forgotten.

"Thanks," Dillon nodded. "Can we go on through?" He asked.

"Of course," the other guard nodded. "Unfortunately, the military sector is closed already, so Ms. Powell can't report to the general until the morning," he commented. "You're welcome to check in with Dr. K for now though," he added.

"That's fine by me." Dev muttered from the backseat. Summer giggled slightly as the guards handed back their identification.

"Can we still find her at the garage?" Dillon asked as he and the girls pocketed their identification.

"Yes, sir," one of the guards replied.

"Great," Summer replied. "We'll just head over there, then," she smiled.

"Alright then, you folks have a good night," the other guard nodded as the two stepped back and let Dillon drive onward.

"The Garage?" Dev commented as they pulled away and headed towards the centre of the city.

"Yeah, its where we all used to live…well, and work…and hang out," Summer replied with a chuckle.

"What is it?" Came the follow-up question.

"It's a garage," Summer replied matter of factly. "Well, the front is, kind of. And then there's Dr. K's area which would be her lab…so, all in all it's part garage, science lab, and…I don't know, ranger dorm?" Summer chuckled.

"...How original." Dev commented dryly with a roll of her eyes. Tenaya snorted beside her and Summer continued to chuckle as Dillon turned off the main road and down a side street.

"It's a nice place," Dillon shrugged, feeling a need to defend the only home he could remember.

"I'm not saying it isn't." Dev responded with a shrug. "Just stating the obvious that it's highly original to call the garage... Well, you know."

"Well, it fits," Summer chuckled. Rolling her eyes in a good natured manner, Dev fell silent as the car began to slow.

"We're here." Dillon commented as he pulled into a driveway of sorts and a door began to lift up, granting them access. Dillon waited patiently for the door to finish moving. Just as the door disappeared at the top of the garage's entrance, Flynn appeared in blue overalls with the top half hanging off his waist and a black undershirt. He wore a perplexed and cautious look on his face, no doubt having heard the door begin open and come out to investigate. He peered at the car and grinned widely once he realized who it was.

"Oh, no bloody way!" He exclaimed. "Well look what the cat drug in. Guys, get out here!" He called over his shoulder with a laugh as he walked out of the garage and approached Summer's side of the car. Dillon had barely put the car into park before Flynn pulled the passenger door open and pulled Summer from the car, gripping her in a tight hug. Summer laughed happily as she wrapped her arms around Flynn's shoulders.

"It's great to see you too, Flynn," she laughed as she hugged him.

"We missed you!" He commented as he released her a moment later.

"Summer!" Gemma exclaimed as she excitedly ran out of the garage, with Scott and Gem meandering behind her.

"Gemma!" Summer laughed as the former silver ranger engulfed her in a tight hug.

"Well, gee, no one rush to hug me," Dillon joked as he, Tenaya and Dev climbed out of the car.

"Hey man!" Flynn grinned as he rounded the other side of the car and clasped hands with Dillon. He then moved to Tenaya and wrapped her in a hug as well. Gem moved over to Summer and Gemma to hug the former yellow ranger the moment Gemma was done.

"We didn't know you guys…" Gem spoke as he hugged Summer.

"…were coming back!" Gemma concluded with an ecstatic giggle. Dillon chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, it's nice to see some things haven't changed," he commented.

"Oh, you think that's bad?" Scott commented as he approached Dillon. "You should hear it when the three of them finish a sentence," he laughed as he gestured to Gem, Gemma and Flynn.

"Oh, one blessed time!" Flynn groaned, rolling his eyes. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

"Doubt it." Scott laughed as he greeted Dillon and Tenaya.

"Where's Dr. K and Ziggy?" Dillon asked.

"K's in the back working on…something," Flynn commented with a shrug. "Ziggy went out to get some groceries, he should be back soon."

"You still let him get groceries?" Summer questioned, skepticism filling her tone. "After what happened when we were rangers?"

"Don't worry, all grocery trips have gone on without incident since then," Scott laughed.

"Thank god." Dillon chuckled as Gem and Gemma round his car to embrace him and Tenaya. Behind them, Devlyn cleared her throat to remind them all that she was still there. Summer looked over at their new friend and winced apologetically.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry," she apologized as she rounded the back of the car to stand beside her. "Guys, this is Devlyn," she smiled. "Devlyn, this is Gem, Gemma, Flynn and Scott," she said, gesturing as she introduced everyone.

"Hi." Dev smiled as she waved slightly.

"Hi!" Gemma smiled as she and Gem moved closer to her. "It's so nice to meet you. Any friend of Summer, Dillon and Tenaya's..."

"Is a friend of ours!" Gem continued with a bright smile on his face to match his sister's.

"Great to hear." Dev responded, raising her eyebrows slightly at the twins' response. Summer giggled at Dev's expression.

"Yeah, that takes some getting used to," she commented.

"Oh my god…" A new shocked voice breathed out from the garage's entrance. The group turned around just in time to see Ziggy drop a large paper grocery bag on the floor, a surprised look on his face. The look quickly vanished as he grinned and took an excited running leap towards the newly returned friends.

"Whoa!" Dillon exclaimed as Ziggy practically pounced on him, the former green ranger tightly hugging him. "It's great to see you too…Ziggy," he laughed.

"When did you get back?" The former green ranger exclaimed happily as he disentangled himself from Dillon and embraced Tenaya just as fiercely.

"Just now," Tenaya chuckled as she hugged him back.

"Ziggy, have you been getting into the double sugar doughnuts lately?" Summer teased, giggling at his excited state.

"What?" Came the response as he moved to hug Summer as well. "Of course not!" Summer simply continued to giggle as she hugged him back.

"What in the world is going on out here?" Came the familiar voice of Dr. K as she stomped out to see what all the racket was about. Dillon, Tenaya and Summer were a little surprised at the sight of her. For the most part, she looked exactly the same as when they had left—same clothes, same stern expression-but her hair had changed somewhat drastically. Where she once had had her self-styled slightly uneven bowl cut, she now had a longer style, her hair reaching where her neck curved into her shoulder. The bangs on her face also looked softer than before.

Dr. K paused, a flash of surprise momentarily crossing her face before she composed herself in her usual taciturn manner. "Dillon, Summer, Tenaya…..how nice to see you," she succinctly replied.

"Hey Doc." Dillon nodded, giving her a smile, while Tenaya gave a small wave in response.

"How long are you visiting for?" She asked.

"Um, it's not a visit," Summer replied with a smile. "We're here to stay."

"You are?" Ziggy asked. "That's great!" He grinned. Flynn, Scott, and the twins expressed their agreement to Ziggy's statement while the only reaction Dr. K displayed as a small, barely there, half smile.

"Well then, welcome home," she replied.

"Thanks." Summer grinned. "Oh," she added, remembering what the guard had said about Dev checking in with Dr. K. "This is our friend, Devlyn Powell," she said. Dr. K peered at Dev and nodded.

"Ah, yes, Ms. Powell. The general was expecting you tomorrow afternoon. If you'd like, I can check you in now and put you into the system. That way tomorrow, you'll just have to be given a tour of the base and shown your quarters."

"Uh sure." Dev nodded after a moment. "That'd be great."

"Very well then, you can come with me," she commented as she turned on her heel to lead Dev towards the lab. Dev went to follow before furrowing her brow.

"Wait, so I can't get into my 'quarters' tonight?" She asked. "So…where am I supposed to sleep until then?"

"Well, the garage does have a couch that should be acceptable to sleep on for the time being." Dr. K responded disinterestedly. Ziggy snorted as he stepped forward to stand beside Dr. K.

"That's not very welcoming," he playfully chided as he threw an arm across her shoulders. Dr. K's cheeks tinted red. Ziggy shrugged as he looked over at the others. "You can use my room for the night. I don't use it too often these days other than to keep my stuff there."

"Ziggy!" Dr. K hissed, reproaching him as her cheeks grew redder and she gave him a swift elbow to the gut.

"That's an interesting development." Summer commented, her eyebrows rising in surprise.

"I'll be in my lab," Dr. K grumbled as she shook Ziggy's arm off her shoulder and stalked out of the room. Blinking slightly, Dev cast a glance at Ziggy.

"Uh, thanks." She mumbled slightly before moving to follow in the direction that Dr. K had gone. Ziggy nodded as Dev moved past the kitchenette area and entered Dr. K's lab. He blinked as he rubbed the sore spot on his stomach, where Dr. K had hit him. After a moment he seemed to finally realize something.

"Oh…." He muttered, wincing slightly. "So I guess I'll be using that couch tonight," he murmured, thinking out loud, realizing he might've said too much and upset his girlfriend.

"You think?" Scott laughed as he rolled his eyes.

"So, you and Dr. K, huh?" Dillon asked with a good natured smirk on his face. Ziggy chuckled and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck.

"Uh, yeah. For…kind of a while," he admitted.

"Six months!" Flynn chimed in. "Which is five months longer than we thought they'd last!"

"Hey!" Ziggy protested.

"Speak for yourself," Scott commented to Flynn.

"Thanks, Scott, its nice to see who my friends are here," Ziggy interjected. Scott chuckled and shook his head.

"Some of us here didn't think it'd make it past two weeks," he snickered.

"Jerk." Ziggy muttered darkly as he glared at his friends.

"Aw, guys, lay off," Summer chastised as she moved over to stand beside Ziggy. She threw her arm around his shoulder and smiled. "Personally, I think it's great. I always had a feeling you two would have something really special." Ziggy's expression bighted as he smiled.

"Aw, shucks. Thanks Summer," he replied.

"Anyway, come inside!" Flynn commented as he ushered the trio further into the garage. "Stay awhile, have some food!" Summer, Tenaya and Dillon chuckled as the group made their way to the kitchenette.

"So what was it like?" Scott questioned as the trio sat down and the group began to pull out an assortment of food to choose from. "In the wasteland I mean."

"It was a little hard," Tenaya replied. "But nice too….I mean, it felt good being able to help some people," she added, letting the unsaid implication about how it seemed to absolve her not too distant past, hang in the air.

Dillon reached over and rubbed his sister's back. "Yeah," he agreed, "it was a little hard going place to place, and most of the time not having a comfortable place to sleep, but it was worth it."

"What were the cities like?" Ziggy asked. "Was... The destruction bad?"

"A lot of the cities were," Summer nodded. "I mean there were some cities that were so bad off, it was hard to believe anyone could've survived for as long as the people there had. But there were also some cities that weren't so bad." She shrugged slightly. "Bayview, where we met Dev, could probably get back on its feet within a year or two. Other cities….I don't even know if they can be salvaged," she stated sadly.

"Who is she anyway?" Flynn questioned as he dropped into a seat across from his friends.

"She's a weapons and tech engineer," Tenaya replied. "She'd been doing a lot of work at Bayview and was offered a spot here in Corinth." Ziggy frowned at that.

"But…K's the weapons and tech person," he commented, worried that this was someone's way of shoving Dr. K out of her position. Summer shrugged.

"I guess the general and everyone felt that it couldn't hurt to have a more fleshed out staff?" She replied. Everyone's gaze shifted to Scott at that, wondering if he knew anything.

"Hey, don't look at me. My dad and I don't talk about work stuff these days," he said.

"You don't?" Dillon asked. Scott shrugged again.

"It was…suggested that perhaps it'd be best we focus on our relationship as a family, and not focus on all that stuff."

"Huh?" Summer asked, that entire sentence making absolutely no sense.

"Family therapy," Flynn muttered around a fake cough.

"Oh." She murmured, casting a glance at her best friend. Scott rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Flynn, it's so nice to see Ziggy's penchant for over sharing has rubbed off on you. Anyway," he continued with a dismissive wave of his hand, "its not like we're problems…just…trying to get past some things," he vaguely stated.

"Sounds like... Fun." Dillon muttered as he reached for some food. "Anyway, I doubt we'll even see much of Dev." He continued with a shrug.

"What makes you say that?" Summer questioned, slightly upset by his remark that they wouldn't see as much of Dev anymore. Dillon shrugged again.

"I don't know…just mean that she'd probably be busy with work," he replied.

"I still don't get why we need another weapons and tech expert." Ziggy muttered, restating the earlier point.

"Maybe they wanted to give Dr. K some help?" Gemma commented optimistically. "Give her less to worry about?"

"It's not such a bad idea." Summer commented, feeling like her friend was being attacked for having a similar job to Dr. K. "And who knows, maybe she'll end up working on different tasks than K has."

"Hope so," Ziggy murmured. "Because if they were looking to replace K with her…well, having K check her in and put her in the system is just….mean." The group nodded in understanding before lapsing into silence. After a moment, Flynn glanced at his friends.

"You know what's creepy? How much she looks like Dr. K as well..."

"How is that creepy?" Ziggy exclaimed after a moment. "Are you suggesting that K is creepy looking?"

"Whoa, whoa, settle down Zig," Flynn said, his hands up in a sign of peace. "I didn't mean it like that," he assured him.

"What do you mean?" Tenaya questioned. "They really don't look alike at all."

"She's right," Gem nodded. "I really don't see the resemblance."

"I don't know, I kind of agree with Flynn," Gemma casually replied. The moment the words left her mouth, everyone's eyes quickly shifted to her, as multiple shocked gazes regarded her. "What?" She frowned. After a moment, Summer chuckled.

"It's nothing…I don't think I've ever heard you disagree with Gem before," she commented.

"It happens occasionally." Gem replied with a shrug.

"Why don't we change the subject?" Dillon suggested, noticing that Ziggy seemed to still be on edge and upset over the assumption that someone would speak ill of Dr. K.

"What's been happening in the city?" Tenaya questioned, picking up on her brother's hint.

"Quite a bit," Flynn commented. "Scott's dad and the other big wigs around are working on restructuring the city. I heard they're even thinking of reopening the University downtown."

"Really?" Summer questioned. "That's actually great to hear."

"It's thanks to you guys, actually," Scott interjected.

"Us?" Tenaya asked, confused.

"Aye," Flynn nodded, "one of the groups of survivors you guys directed here had this real academic type, who had been a pretty accredited college professor before all this happened. He said that if everyone's trying to rebuild, then one of the most important things we need is a University."

"Wow," Summer commented.

"It'll be really good for the city." Scott agreed. "They'll be updating the buildings and allowing people to upgrade their degrees and diplomas for free."

"That's amazing," Summer smiled.

"We're thinking of teaching, once it opens," Gem and Gemma excitedly shared in unison.

"Really?" Dillon asked, glancing at the others. "Is that even safe?" He muttered, causing the others to laugh.

"I think if they stick to chemistry….with a subsect of things that are supposed to explode, and each and every student signs a waiver, it should be okay," Scott laughed.

"I really hope the University has good insurance." Flynn teased good naturally. "I'm even thinking of going back too."

"Really?" Summer asked. "To teach, or as a student?" She asked. Flynn shrugged.

"I'm not sure yet, maybe both," he replied. "I could split my time teaching mechanics to people who want to learn a trade, and work on getting a degree in engineering or something," he elaborated.

"That sounds really great, Flynn," Summer smiled.

"Thanks Sum." He murmured, blushing slightly at the praise. "Anyway it probably won't be for a while."

"But it's nice to think about," Gemma smiled, lightly patting his hand. The group continued to chat idly for another hour before the newly arrived trio began to show signs of exhaustion.

"Maybe we should let you guys get some sleep." Scott commented, as the door to Dr. K's lab swished open and Dev shuffled back into the room.

"Hey," Summer smiled, glad to see Dev returning. "How'd it go?" She asked. Dev shrugged as she came to a stop at the counter where everyone sat.

"Alright, I guess. Dr. K had to 'put me in the system', which really meant putting every form of security identification into the computer. I'm still seeing spots from the retinal scan," she said, blinking a few times.

"I remember that." Dillon chuckled, remembering that it had occurred around the same time as his incident with the fridge cannon that Dr. K had created. "It goes away eventually."

"Here's hoping," Dev snorted. She sighed and yawned slightly. "Well, I'm beat," she announced.

"Me too." Summer nodded, and the statement was echoed by Tenaya groaned from where her head was resting against the counter.

"Hey," Gemma asked, a thought occurring to her, "where's Tenaya going to sleep?" She asked. Tenaya blinked and slowly lifted her head at hearing her name. Summer and Dillon looked over at Tenaya before sharing a look for a moment.

"Uh…she'll take my room," Summer replied. Tenaya's brows furrowed at that.

"I will?" She asked. "But then where will you sle…." She paused at the look she saw her brother and Summer giving her. "Oh," she said, nodding. "Right, um, yeah that's fine," she said. Scott, Flynn, Ziggy and the twins turned their gaze to the former black and yellow rangers. Both Flynn and Ziggy quirked an eyebrow at the couple.

"Oh really?" Flynn smirked.

"That's an interesting development," Ziggy teased, using Summer's earlier words.

"Hush." Summer blushed furiously, eliciting a chuckle from the group, sans Dev who stood there and shrugged.

"You guys act like people don't have sex." She stated. There was a quiet in the group before Summer chuckled nervously.

"It's not…I mean it just makes sense….We need to free up a room…..so…" Summer stammered, her cheeks growing pink.

"Uh huh, sure." Dev nodded, not believing a word of it. Summer quickly stood up from the stool she had been occupying, as her cheeks became even more flushed.

"Uh, come on Tenaya, why don't I show you to the room?" she said, needing to make a rather hasty retreat from the conversation.

"And you." Summer continued looking at Dev. "Come on, I'll show you Ziggy's room now." Reaching, Summer grabbed Dev's arm and pulled the shorter woman alongside her, as Tenaya moved to catch up. The others watched as the three left and climbed up the stairs to the second level of the garage.

"Well, that was awkward," Scott commented.

"Tell me about it," Dillon muttered as he got up. "I'm going to unload some of the stuff from the car," he commented while moving back to his car.

Upstairs, Summer was quiet as she led Dev and Tenaya to Ziggy's room. She had been tempted to drop Tenaya off first so she could have time to give Dev a piece of her mind, but as much as she wanted to berate her new friend, Summer also needed to talk to Tenaya.

"Here we are," she commented as she stopped outside Ziggy's room.

"Me?" Dev commented, figuring that Summer would have dropped the younger girl off first.

"Yup," Summer replied, nudging Dev towards the door. "We'll talk tomorrow," she commented in a tone that all but screamed 'oh, you better believe we'll be talking tomorrow, missy'.

"Cant' wait." The shorter woman replied with a cheeky grin. Summer rolled her eyes.

"Good night," she said before turning on her heel and leading Tenaya away.

"Oh…Good night Dev," Tenaya quickly said as she was pulled along by Summer. Dev chuckled and gave the two girls a parting wave.

"Night," she replied before stepping into Ziggy's room.

Down the hall, Summer brought Tenaya to her old room and ushered her through the door. The younger girl walked in, surprised to be quickly followed in by Summer.

"Are you alright?" She asked as Summer shut the door behind her. Summer looked at her and sighed.

"I should be asking you that," she replied. Tenaya shrugged.

"I'm not the one who was just the subject of an awkward moment downstairs," Tenaya pointed her head. Summer chuckled and shook her head, waving her hand dismissively.

"Not that," she replied. "I mean…you know….your situation," she said. Tenaya frowned as she got an idea what Summer was getting at.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she stubbornly insisted. Summer rolled her eyes.

"Come on, Tenaya," she sighed. "You can't keep being like that. You need to talk to Dr. K…..and you definitely need to talk to Dillon," she pressed on.

"No." Tenaya replied stubbornly. "I _cannot_ tell Dillon." She commented.

"Why not?" Summer asked, somewhat exasperatedly. "I mean, I get why you didn't want to tell him before, when this first started happening. You didn't want him to think we needed to come back here right away, but we're home now. And we're here to stay. He needs to know."

"I said no," Tenaya firmly stated.

"Tenaya…" Summer commented, taking a step towards her. "You can't do this to him," she gently insisted. "If…and when…your eyesight goes completely, do you have any idea how hurt he'll be that you didn't tell him sooner? He's your brother."

"Yes, he is." Tenaya commented with a loud sigh. "He's also your boyfriend, and a former ranger... Do you think that I want to go back to having to rely on him to get me around? Do you think I want him to give up his life to be my caretaker?" Summer stared at her for a moment as she took in her words. She looked away as she seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. She finally brought her gaze back to Tenaya and gave her a small tentative smile.

"But it's different now," she told her. "You don't just have Dillon now, you have all of us. We're all here for you. So, even if you do need to rely on others…Dillon wouldn't be giving up his life." Tenaya rolled her eyes and snorted.

"Oh, great, so I'll just be some joint charity case between all of you?" She asked.

"No!" Summer quickly exclaimed. She sighed; sending a silent prayer no one downstairs had heard her. She took a deep breath and shook her head. "It's not charity. It's caring about you. You saw how everyone was so happy to see you, how everyone rushed to hug you jus like they did with Dillon and me….You're important to everyone, we want to be here for you. You just need to let us."

"I know I'm important to everyone... That's why I'm choosing to forget about this conversation." Tenaya replied before moving deeper into Summer's old room. "Goodnight Summer." She stated, her tone final. Summer gazed at her friend sadly before looking down.

"Alright, Tenaya," she quietly said, deciding it was best to drop it for now. They were all tired as it was, and that probably wasn't helping matters in this conversation. She took a deep breath to compose herself and looked up. "There are some extra sheets and blankets in the closet, in case you get cold or something" she casually said, gesturing th the large armoire against the wall. "Top shelf," she added. "Have a good night," she said as she turned to the door. Once the door was firmly closed behind her, Summer moved down the hallway towards Dillon's room before moving inside and shutting the door softly behind her. She found Dillon sitting on his bed, waiting for her.

"Hey," he said, looking at her with a smile on his face. Summer returned the smile half heartedly and approached the bed.

"Hey," she replied. Dillon reached over and placed a hand on her waist once she was close enough.

"What's wrong?" He asked, detecting the troubled look on her face. Summer made herself widen her smile and shook her head.

"Nothing, just tired I guess," she assured him.

"Understandable." Came his response as he guided her to sit next to him. Summer followed his lead and leaned against his shoulder once she was seated. Dillon wrapped both arms around her and kissed her forehead.

"I had planned on bringing all our things up," he stated, "but just managed to get the stuff out of the truck before coming up here and going to bed seemed much more appealing," he chuckled.

"Bed sounds like a good idea." Summer giggled as she snuggled against him. Dillon grinned and rubbed her back.

"I think I have a few t-shirts left in my dresser," he commented. "Do you want to borrow one for until you move your things in here?" He asked. "I mean, since I know you're not opposed to sleeping in my clothing," he teased. Summer blushed and poked him slightly in the stomach.

"Fine." She giggled in response. Dillon chuckled and kissed her forehead again before getting up to grab a t-shirt for her. He brought it back over to the bed and handed it to her.

"Thanks." She smiled as she took it from his hands.

"I'll let you get changed," Dillon commented as he went to leave the room. Summer reached up and gently took his hand to stop him.

"You know, if we're going to be sharing a room…you don't have to leave the room every time I'm getting changed," she pointed out. Dillon smiled.

"True…" He replied. "But, I have a feeling if I stay here while you're changing tonight….I might be tempted to forget that I'm tired."

"Well, I was thinking you could just turn around." She giggled softly. Dillon laughed and nodded.

"Alright," he replied, "but, I'm not sure if I can honestly say I won't be tempted to peek," he teased. Summer giggled and shook her head.

"I think I can trust you to behave yourself," she commented as she stood up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick gentle peck on the lips.

"You seem to have more faith in me than I do." Dillon chuckled as he nuzzled his nose against hers softly. Summer smiled brightly at him and gently brushed the back of his neck with her fingers.

"I've always had faith in you, and always will," she softly stated. The corners of Dillon's mouth pulled up slightly in a genuine smile. Slowly, he let his arms drop as he stepped backwards to let her get changed. Summer smiled as he turned around and turned her back to him as well for added modesty as she worked on kicking her shoes off. Once that was done, she pulled her shirt off and reached back to undo the hooks of her bra. Once she had pulled it off her shoulders, she tossed it on top of her discarded shirt. As she picked up the shirt Dillon had given her, she heard the ruffling of clothing behind her. After a moment she realized Dillon must've figured he might as well get ready for bed himself as he waited for her to finish changing.

Summer swiftly pulled the long t-shirt on and pulled it down before she worked on unbuttoning her pants. Just as she pushed her jeans off her hips, Dillon turned around and tossed his clothes next to her growing pile.

"Nice shirt." He grinned cheekily. Summer glanced at him over her shoulder and giggled.

"You think so?" She coyly asked as she kicked her pants over to the rest of her clothes. "Some guy let me borrow it," she grinned. 

"That guy must like you a lot to give you his favorite shirt." He smiled. Summer's smile widened as she turned around and took a step closer to him.

"His favorite shirt, huh?" She asked, her tone still coy.

"Mmmhmm." Dillon nodded as he slipped his arms around her.

"Well, then I guess I better take very good care of it," she commented as her arms went back around his neck.

"I'd appreciate it." Came his response as he lowered his lips to her softly. Summer lifted herself onto the tips of her toes to meet him half way and pressed her lips against his. Ever so slowly Dillon pulled away after a moment, and began to rub her back tenderly.

"Come on, let's go to bed."

"Sounds like a good idea," Summer murmured, a smile on her face as she lowered herself back down on the balls of her feet. Dillon pressed a quick peck on her forehead before the two disentangled from one another and made their way towards the bed. Before she could climb in, Dillon reached over and pulled the comforter and sheets back to let Summer climb in. "Thanks," she demurely smiled before getting into bed.

"You're welcome gorgeous." He grinned as he lifted the covers up for her. Once they were settled, he moved over to the other side of the bed and climbed in next to her. Summer smiled and shifted closer to him once he was settled under the covers. Relaxing, Dillon opened his arms and allowed Summer to snuggle up against his bare chest, her arms slipping around his mid-section as he draped one arm down her back, and tucked the other arm behind his head. Summer sighed contently as she laid her head over his heart. "Happy to be back here?" He curiously asked as he tenderly rubbed her back.

"Yeah," Summer replied. "It was great seeing everyone after all this time, not to mention being back on comfy beds," she chuckled.

"Just think, tomorrow... Insanely hot showers." Came his response.

"Mmm," Summer softly moaned, very much liking that. "Definitely can't wait for that. I might just have to sequester myself in the shower for like two hours or something," she chuckled.

"Only two hours?" Dillon chuckled as he tickled her sides gently. "Save some water for the rest of us." Summer giggled and squirmed slightly against him as he tickled her.

"Oh well, I guess everyone else will have to get to the showers before I do," she replied. "Or share." She added saucily as an afterthought. Dillon nervously cleared his throat as he got a certain mental picture from that.

"You just had to say that now, when we're about to go to sleep, huh?" He jokingly groaned. Summer giggled slightly as she patted his chest lightly.

"It'll be okay." Dillon rolled his eyes and chuckled. The couple lapsed into silence, and it only took a few minutes for Summer to drift off to sleep. Dillon heard her breathing even out as she drifted off into a deep sleep and smiled. He ducked his head and gently kissed the top of her head before lying back and letting sleep claim him as well.


	2. Chapter 2

The clock read 3:45am when Scott descended the stairs into the main living room of the garage. He stopped mid-step as he noticed a figure sitting on the couch in front of the TV. He noted that it was either Dev or Tenaya, as he could see her dark hair from the light that the television was throwing on her body softly. He carefully neared the couch, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the glow of the television in the room. Slowly, he rounded the side of the couch and his breath caught in his throat as he went to greet the person. It was Devlyn. She was wearing a purple sports bra and small black shorts that barely covered everything.

Dev, finally noticing the presence of someone else in the room, shifted her eyes from the television and looked over at Scott.

"Oh, hi," she said. "Is the TV too loud?" She asked, assuming he had come down because of the noise. She scooped up the remote and lowered the volume a couple of notches.

"Uh, no." He finally managed to choke out, shaking his head quickly. He took a breath and willed himself to get rid of the sudden feeling of dry mouth that he had come across. "S'fine."

"Alright," Dev said, nodding slowly. Scott scratched the back of his head, suddenly feeling rather self conscious and hoping his bed mussed hair wasn't too horrible looking.

"So," He commented as he sat down on the couch she was sitting on. "How come you're awake?" Chastising himself the moment question passed his lips. _'Way to impress the new girl'_ he thought lamely. Dev shrugged as she idly traced the remote control's buttons with the tip of her finger.

"I guess turning it rather early last night made we wake up at a weird hour," she commented with another shrug. "And then I remembered seeing a TV down here and…well, couldn't resist," she chuckled.

"Big TV fan, huh?" Scott asked. Dev snorted and shook her head.

"Not really. I used to barely watch it before, but when you go without a TV for years, its funny how you suddenly need to become full on couch potato the second you see one," she pointed out.

"Years?" Scott questioned. "How long are we talking here?" He knew that Bayview, being one of the larger cities, had been one of the first attacked and brought down. Dev was quiet for a moment as she seemed to need to think back into her memories.

"Five," she finally answered.

"Five years?" Scott breathed in surprise. Dev gave a sad nod in reply.

"Bayview fell just before the centennial celebrations five years ago. A lot of people were killed in the initial attack; And if you weren't killed, you either attempted to go into hiding, or you were taken as a prisoner..." Trailing off, she sighed softly. "Although the people who went into hiding were found and brought in eventually anyway."

"Which group did you fall into?" Scott questioned carefully after a moment. Dev glanced downwards, feeling a burst of emotion clouding her throat.

"I was taken prisoner." She responded after another moment. "My family... Wasn't as lucky." Scott looked down. He felt horrible for bringing the subject up.

"I'm sorry," he softly replied, reaching over and placing a hand on hers. She gave a soft gasp at his touch. It was as if a spark had jumped between them.

"Thank you." Devlyn responded after she caught her breath, glancing up at him. Scott looked up and held her gaze for a moment before his senses returned and he nodded slowly.

"No problem," he replied as he awkwardly slipped his hand off of hers. Tearing her gaze away from him, she could feel her face growing warm with a blush. Something stirred within her when he pulled his hand off hers, and it felt cold. Shaking the feeling off, she picked up the remote.

"So how come you're awake?" She asked softly.

Scott shrugged in response as he passively watched the TV in front of them. "Couldn't sleep, I guess," he replied.

"I know that feeling." Dev commented, giving him a side glance before focusing on the TV. They lapsed into a comfortable silence until Dev shivered slightly.

"Are you cold?" Scott asked, instinctively shifting closer to Dev as he spoke.

"A little yeah." She replied as she shivered again. Scott nervously licked his lips as the impulse to take her in his arms ran through his mind. He cleared his throat, berating himself for thinking something like that when he had just met Dev, and doubted she'd particularly want his arms around her.

"Uh…do…do you want me to try and find a blanket or something?" He lamely asked.

"It's okay." Dev replied with a shake of her head. She gave Scott a small smile before looking back at the TV, trying to focus on keeping the shivering at bay. Her plan failed though, when she began to shiver even more a few moments later. Scott glanced over at her for a moment and quickly shifted closer to her, his arms loosely coming around her frame before he could stop himself. He felt Dev stiffen against him as he pulled her closer, but it only lasted a moment before she relaxed and the shivering ceased.

"Thank you." She murmured softly as the blush reappeared on her cheeks.

"No problem," Scott replied, as he felt his heart hammering in his chest. Biting her lip slightly, Dev pulled her legs up and tucked them under her body before unconsciously curling closer to Scott, her head resting gently on his shoulder. They remained in their position for nearly an hour before Dev began to nod off against Scott's shoulder. "Do you want to go to bed?" Scott questioned, figuring she might be more comfortable. Dev slowly shook her head against him.

"My bed will be cold." She replied. Scott swallowed thickly at that, his mind blurting out _I'll go to bed with you! _He shook his head and berated himself for letting his hormones nearly make him say something so stupid and inappropriate.

"Oh," was all he could think to say after a long pause. "Um... I could stretch out and you could join me." He mumbled lamely after a while. "You'd be warm then." Dev chewed on her bottom lip as her cheeks grew warm.

"Okay," she softly replied after a moment. Scott could feel his stomach do somersaults as he bit back a grin.

"Okay, give me a minute." He slowly pulled his arms off her. Dev wrapped her arms around herself as the chilly air hit her full force the moment Scott's arms were off of her. Scott returned a moment later with a pillow tucked under his arm. "Okay, back." He smiled. Dev nodded and shifted on the couch to give him room to lie back on the couch. Once Scott had situated himself on the couch, and tucked the pillow behind his head, he smiled at Dev. "Okay." He commented lightly. Dev demurely smiled back at him and carefully shifted on the couch until she was laying half beside him on the couch, and half on him. Once she was comfortable, Scott slipped one arm down her back, and the other across the arm that was draped over his chest. Dev rested her head against his chest and sighed softly. Carefully, Scott began to rub her back gently. Dev moaned sleepily as she relaxed in his embrace. Scott felt his breath hitch in his throat for the second time that evening.

"Uh..g…good night," Scott quietly stammered.

"Night." She murmured softly into his chest. She sighed again and snuggled closer to Scott before drifting off to sleep. It took Scott a while to drift off as well, his mind abuzz with the events that had taken place.

The rising sun's light pouring through the windows of the garage awoke Scott a couple of hours later. He was surprised to see that Devlyn was still asleep against him. Shifting slightly, he cast a glance around the main level of the garage. Thankfully, it seemed to be empty for the time being. Carefully, Scott pulled away from Dev's embrace and moved off the couch. Stretching, he yawned loudly. On the couch, Dev sleepily mewed in her sleep and curled into a tight fetal position as she reacted to the lack of Scott's warmth. Scratching his head slightly, a thought struck Scott. His friends and former teammates would be getting up soon, and would have a lot of questions and comments if they were to stumble across Dev and himself lying on the couch in a slightly compromising position. He couldn't just leave her there on the couch and act like he had never been with her, if simply for the mere fact that the early morning chill in the garage was already making her shiver in her sleep.

Ever so slowly, Scott knelt next to the couch and slipped an arm under her legs, while the other moved around her shoulders. Effortlessly, he lifted her into his arms as he stood upright. Dev didn't seem to notice the movement and simply curled against Scott's chest as she continued to sleep. It took him a few moments to shuffle to the stairs and up to Ziggy's old room. He nudged the door open with his hip before carefully carrying Dev inside and over to the bed. Gently, he set her down on the bed. The moment he set her down on the bed, Dev hummed in her sleep and turned her back to him as she sleepily got comfortable on the new surface. She curled up on her side, her knees practically going up to her chest. Scott found the covers in a heap at the foot of the bed and carefully brought them up and over Dev's sleeping form. As she moved, some of her hair slipped across her face, and carefully, Scott reached over and brushed it away from her eyes. "Night." He murmured softly. The only response he received from Dev was a long deep breath as she slipped back into a deep slumber.

Dev awoke a few hours later, surprised to see that she was back in her own bed... Scratch that, Ziggy's bed. Slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position and stretched before climbing out of the bed. She stretched a little more before moving over to where she had left her clothes from the day before. Turning her nose up slightly, she began to change back into the clothing. Once she had gotten dressed, she slipped on her shoes and left the room. Dev was surprised to see that the garage was empty, sans Summer who was sitting in the kitchenette, eating her breakfast quietly.

"Hey," she spoke as she walked down the stairs. Summer looked up at her and smiled.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Have a good night?" Dev questioned as she moved into the kitchen and dropped onto the stool next to her friend.

"Yeah, it was pretty nice," Summer nodded as she popped a piece of bacon into her mouth.

"That's good." Came the response. "What are you gonna do today?" Summer shrugged as she chewed her food and swallowed.

"I'm not sure, I guess catch up with everyone else some more, why?" She questioned.

"Oh just curious." She shrugged. "I was thinking that depending on when I finish my stuff, maybe we could find a clothing store?" Dev finished meekly.

"Oh!" Summer said, a small giggle in her tone, as she came to the realization that Dev would need to flesh out her amount of possessions—clothes included—as the only things she had brought with her to Corinth had fit into just one slightly large duffle bag. "Of course, absolutely" Summer smiled. "There's a shopping district downtown, it has a few clothing stores and some other stuff. We could even find some stuff to decorate your room with after they assign you your quarters."

"Great." Dev smiled softly. "I guess I should head over there then." Sighing, she stood.

"Do you need help getting there?" Summer asked as she swallowed her last bite of food.

"Do you mind?" Came the shorter woman's response. She always hated asking for help, but she knew that it was better to ask Summer, who had lived in Corinth for a long time, as opposed to ending up lost, confused and late.

"I wouldn't have offered if I did," Summer chuckled as she stood up and dumped her plate into the sink. "Just let me run upstairs and change, and maybe see about borrowing Dillon's keys, and we can go," she said as she rounded the counter and made her way towards the stairs.

"Say hi to Dillon for me." Dev giggled. Summer chuckled and rolled her eyes before jogging up the stairs. As Summer entered Dillon's room, she noticed that he was coming out of the bathroom he shared with Flynn, a towel wrapped tightly around his waist.

"Morning." He grinned as beads of water dropped from his hair and slipped down his shoulders and across his chest. Summer bit the corner of her lip as she took in the sight of him. She momentarily thought about forgetting about Dev, going over to Dillon, and yanking that towel from him and let anything else happen after that. She swallowed thickly and shook her head slightly, internally groaning, as she forced herself to get her mind out of the gutter and stick to the original reason she had come to the room.

"Can I borrow your car?" She questioned without preamble. Dillon furrowed his brow as he moved to his dresser to grab some of the small amount of clothes he had left there a year ago.

"Uh…for what?" He asked, confused.

"Dev needs to check-in and the fastest way to get there is to drive her... But I don't have my own car." Summer explained.

"Oh," Dillon replied. "Sure, the keys are in my pants' pocket," he added, jerking his thumb towards where he had left his clothes from the previous day.

"Fantastic." Grinning, Summer moved over to where he had discarded his clothing when they were getting ready for bed the previous night. Kneeling, she dug around before finding his jeans and pulling the keys out. "So, what are you going to do today?" She conversely asked as she stood back up.

"No idea." Came his response as he stopped behind her. "You?"

"Well, figured I'd hang around the military base and wait for Dev to be done checking-in, and then the two of us are going to do some shopping," Summer replied.

"Oh?" Dillon questioned as he brushed a strand of hair off her cheek. "And just what are you going to do when you're hanging around the base, waiting for Dev to be done?" Summer smiled and shrugged.

"I don't know," she replied.

"Can't think of anything?" He asked, giving her a wink.

"There might be other people around who might hear what you're thinking of." Summer blushed as she poked him in the chest softly. "Not to mention I have a day of shopping planned, so whatever you're thinking of, would have to wait until much later."

"Darn," Dillon jokingly groaned.

"You'll get over it." She giggled softly. Dillon leaned forward and kissed the side of her neck.

"Are you sure I can't convince you otherwise?" He murmured.

"Now, that's just playing dirty," Summer sighed as she was greatly tempted to sink into the feeling of his lips on her skin.

"I didn't realize I was supposed to play any other way?" Came his husky comment against her skin. Summer moaned softly, her eyes drifting shut as Dillon continued to kiss her neck. The couple was interrupted as Dev yelled Summer's name from the main level of the building. With a sigh, the blond ranger slowly pushed Dillon away.

"I should go." She murmured softly. Dillon sighed and nodded.

"Okay," he replied. Summer gave him a sympathetic look and lightly kissed his lips.

"I'll see you later," she replied. Dillon nodded as Summer stepped around him to put her shoes on. Halfway through tying her laces, a thought came to Summer and she looked back up at Dillon.

"If you don't have anything to do today….maybe you and Tenaya should talk to Dr. K," she causally commented. A part of her felt bad for in a way betraying Tenaya's confidence with such a suggestion, but another and much bigger part justified that Tenaya had made Summer swore not to tell Dillon the ocular implants were beginning to fail. Tenaya never specifically said anything about barring Summer from idly pointing Dillon into a direction that would no doubt lead him to finding out through other means. "You know…just to check on things, make sure everything's okay after a whole year on the road," she nonchalantly shrugged.

"That's a good idea." He agreed after a moment with a nod. Summer finished tying her shoes and stood up with a confirming nod.

"Great," she replied. She smiled and stepped closer to him to give him one more kiss. "I'll be sure to take care of your baby," she giggled, waving the car keys in her hand to indicate she was referring to his car.

"You'd better." Dillon teased. "Otherwise you'll have to be punished."

"Is that so?" Summer teased right back.

"Uh huh." Grinning, Dillon swooped in for another kiss. Summer giggled and kissed him back for a moment before stepping away.

"Alright, now I really have to go. I don't want to hold Dev up."

"Oh alright." Stepping back slightly, Dillon smiled. "Have fun."

"Will do." With a smile, Summer exited the room and moved back downstairs.

"It's about time," Dev jokingly commented as Summer approached her.

"Sorry." Summer blushed. "I didn't mean to be long."

"Uh huh," Dev chuckled with an impish smirk.

"Hush!" The blond ranger giggled. Dev continued to chuckle as Summer's cheeks kept up their red hue.

"Alright, alright," she relented. "Shall we go?" She asked.

"Yes we should." Her friend agreed.

"Great," Dev replied with a smile as the two made their way towards Dillon's car. The ride over to headquarters was fairly quiet, both girls lost in their own thoughts. The ride over to headquarters was fairly quiet, both girls lost in their own thoughts. Once they had arrived and Dev had been checked in, she was informed that she would be busy for another twenty minutes.

"I'll wait." Summer smiled. "Then we can go shopping." Dev nodded.

"Sounds good," she replied before one of the workers at the base led her away from Summer. "I'll see you in a little while," she commented over her shoulder before she disappeared past the double doors that led to another part of the base that included the employee's private quarters.

For Summer, the twenty minutes seemed to fly past, and before she knew it, Dev was wandering back into the room. "And done." She commented with a smile.

"Great," Summer grinned.

"Shopping?" Dev commented around a smile, noting that Summer seemed excited about the idea.

"Yup!" Summer giggled as the two left the base and headed towards Dillon's car. The trip to the mall wasn't nearly as long as Dev expected it to be. Within a few minutes of getting into Dillon's car, the girls had arrived at their destination.

"Looking for anything in particular?" Dev teased her friend as they climbed out and headed into the mall. Summer shrugged. "Uh huh?" Dev teased with a grin, and Summer shot her a glare.

"Just looking for anything, I guess," she casually replied. "I haven't shopped in a while."

"Sounds like me." Came the reply as the moved into the main part of the mall.

"So, where do you want to go first?" Summer asked as they walked deeper inside the shopping center.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Dev replied with a shrug. She turned slightly to face her friend. "I haven't been shopping in over 5 years." Summer nodded.

"Well, it's been a while since I've been here, but I think everything's still the same. There's a pretty good clothing store upstairs, then there's a home store….they've got linens, lamps, and pretty much anything you might want for your room…..there's a cosmetic store….perfume…." Summer continued on, filling Dev in on what the mall had to offer. "

I... Lets start at the home store." Dev replied after a moment's thought. "Maybe I'll feel better about shopping for clothes after that."

"Okay," Summer nodded, although a little confused as to why Dev seemed unnerved about shopping for clothes.

"Great." With a smile that didn't reach her eyes, Dev linked arms with Summer as they headed upstairs to the home store. They spent the better part of an hour picking out small items for Dev's new room. By the time they were finished, Dev had three full sets of linens in black, white and red, as well as two lamps and a full-length mirror. Thankfully, her bed, desk and dresser were all included in the room she was being given at the base. "I think this is enough for now," Dev nodded as they pushed the cart they had been using towards the registers. She gave Summer a sideways glance. "Maybe we can stop by here again sometime in the future, you know, in case I want to get knick knacks and stuff," she said. Summer grinned and nodded.

"Of course!" She replied.

"Great." It took her a few minutes to gather up her things and pay for them, using a hefty advance that the city had given to her, seeing it as an investment to their newest employee.

"So, where to now?" Summer asked as she picked up the bags holding the few things she had purchased for her and Dillon's room.

"Clothing... I guess." Dev shrugged in response as she pulled her bags off the counter and fell into step beside Summer.

"Great," Summer smiled as they left the store. The girls moved back down to the main level of the mall and it didn't take long for Summer to steer Dev into the Hollister that seemed to be having a slow business day. "This was one of my favorite clothing stores when I was growing up." Summer commented as they stepped into the dimly lit, heavily perfumed store.

"Wow, that's a strong smell," Dev commented as the perfume hitting her senses took her by surprise.

"Yeah it takes a while to get used to." Summer laughed as she began to browse the table where the polo shirts were. "This guy that I knew when I was a teenager used to buy his cologne here... And boy, did he ever smell amazing." With a chuckle she picked up a silver one in a medium and held it out to Dev. "That's why I like this place... Reminds me of before everything went to hell."

"Something tells me you won't be telling Dillon that story," Dev lightly teased with a smile.

"Probably not... But I could pick up a bottle of it for him." Summer mused around a giggle. Dev laughed and idly wandered to a rack by the table to look at jeans. Carefully, she picked through a few different pairs before taking a dark wash, flared jean to try on, along with the silver polo that she had taken from Summer. She glanced at her friend who had moved onto the warmer clothing to look at sweaters and hoodies. Slowly, Dev followed in the same direction. Yet again, Summer grabbed a few different things to try on, while Dev carefully picked through the items.

"Ready to head to the dressing rooms?" Summer asked once she had an arm full of items.

"Sure." Dev nodded slowly as she looked at her seemingly measly pile compared to Summer's. Summer noticed the difference in their loads as well, but simply smiled and led the way to the back of the store where the row of dressing rooms was. The girls stepped into separate dressing rooms. Summer was slightly surprised to see that Dev didn't come out of her change room to show her friend any of the outfits, when Summer had come out to show her own. It didn't take long for Dev to come out and set everything down while her blond haired friend finished.

"Are you finished?" Summer asked as she stepped out of her changing room in a pair of light colored jeans and a yellow tank top.

"Yeah." Dev replied with a nod. "How about you?"

"Almost," Summer replied. "Just have one more shirt to try on," she elaborated.

"Okay." Dev smiled as Summer ducked back into her change room. She leaned back against the wall outside the changing rooms as she waited for Summer. It only took her another moment to finish trying the shirt on, before she reappeared in the outer area of the change room.

"Okay." Summer smiled.

"Are you getting all of that?" Dev asked as she saw Summer exit with all the clothes she had gone in with.

"Yup!" Summer grinned as Dev stood to join her as they moved towards the exit. "Are you going to get all of what you picked out? Or should we keep browsing?"

"I'm good with this for now," Dev replied as she held onto her small pile of clothes.

"You sure?" Summer questioned, her skepticism returning. "We can hit up more stores if you want." Dev shrugged.

"I guess going to some other stores wouldn't hurt," Dev replied. She gave another small shrug. "I don't know, maybe the strong smell in here is making me not want to shop too much."

"It can be overwhelming." Her friend agreed as they headed towards the check out. Pausing mid-way, Summer snatched a bottle of cologne for Dillon before they continued.

"Yeah, it's a bit much," Dev quietly murmured, careful not to be overheard by any of the store's employees as they continued onward to the registers.

"Don't worry, we'll be out soon." Summer promised as they reached their destination. Within a few minutes, the two had been serviced at two cash registers next to each other and paid for their purchases. As they exited, Dev let out a happy sigh as she took a deep breath of fresh air.

"Much better."

"Where do you want to look now?" Summer asked as she led the way further away from the shop to put some distance between themselves and the wafting scent.

"Um, I guess someplace where I could grab specialty clothing." Came the response as a blush crept up over Dev's cheeks.

"Specialty clothing?" Summer asked, confused.

"Underwear." Dev mumbled under her breath.

"Oh!" Summer replied, feeling a little foolish she hadn't realized that sooner. She blushed slightly and cleared her throat. "Right…duh….of course that would be something….needed…" She stammered slightly. "Uh, sure…there's a store over this way," Summer commented as she guided Dev to the right of the wide breezeway in the mall. 

"Great." Came the muttered reply as Dev followed her friend. Summer and Dev walked along the wide corridor until they reached a store front with a stripped pink and white sign out front.

"What is this place?" Dev breathed as they came to a stop.

"Victoria's Secret," Summer replied as they walked into the store. "You've never been to one, even before…you know, before everything went crazy?" She asked.

"No." Shaking her head, Dev glanced at Summer. "Never."

"Oh," Summer replied. "Well, I guess there's a first for everything," she smiled.

"Apparently." Giving her a smile, Dev stepped forward. "Shall we?" Summer smiled and nodded as the two walked deeper into the store. Although they had shopped together in the previous store, both girls were thankful to go their separate ways in search of different items. Summer picked up a few basic and mundane essentials, but after a while she found herself gravitating towards the more risqué and showy lingerie. She picked up two different ones. The first was a sheer dot babydoll in black. The item consisted of layers of mesh and lace, with a flyaway back. She noted that it tied in the back with a soft satin ribbon, and had a matching bikini panty to go with it. The second item was a few feet away, and was a push-up bustier that had a matching thong, all in black. Carefully, Summer tucked them under the pile she had growing in her arms, before departing for the change rooms. It took her a few minutes to try on all the aforementioned items that she had picked up, before she exited the dressing room with the items she intended to purchase. Just as she came out of the dressing room, she saw Dev by one of the racks picking up a few items.

"Find anything good?" Summer questioned as she hid the 'special' items she'd grabbed amongst the other things.

"Yeah," Dev replied, looking down at the few everyday items she had in her arms.

"That's great!" She smiled at her friend. "I'm just gonna pay for these while you try those on, okay?" Dev nodded.

"Sounds good," she replied. Summer moved towards the cash registers, while Dev side-stepped her friend and headed into the change rooms. The line in front of the registers was short, within a few minutes Summer's products were being rung up. Just as her items had been packed, Dev rounded the corner from the change rooms, carrying her purchases. She approached a free cash register and set her items on the counter. It didn't take long for the attendant to ring up the small pile, and bag them as well. Once the attendant handed Dev her bag, she moved to the end of the counter to join Summer who had been patiently waiting for her to be finished.

"I think I've got enough to last a while." She commented as they turned to leave the store. "How about you?"

"I think I'm good," Summer smiled, holding her two bags up slightly.

"Okay." Linking her arm with Summer's, the girls exited the store and wandered back to Dillon's car. They reached the car within minutes and loaded their bags into the trunk.

"Am I taking you back to your new place?" Summer questioned as they climbed into the car.

"Yeah, might as well," Dev replied. "I need to put my things in my new room."

"Care for some help?" Came the follow-up question.

"Sure, that'd be nice," Dev smiled as Summer started the car up.

"I aim to please." The blond woman laughed as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to Dev's new apartment. They arrived at Dev's new home within fifteen minutes. Summer grabbed the bags out of the trunk for Dev's room, while Dev reached in and took her clothing bags out. The two walked through the army base's grounds until they reached the secondary entrance to the residential buildings. Dev led the way to the middle building in the small cul-de-sac and walked in. Dev continued to lead Summer to the second floor of the building to where her living quarters were located.

"It's not much." Dev commented softly as she unlocked the door to her 'house' and moved inside.

"Don't worry," Summer smiled as she followed Dev. The apartment was very small, barely the size of her now shared bedroom with Dillon. The 'kitchen' was barely that, with a small stove and fridge tucked into the corners across from the cereal bar that closed off the kitchen from what would be considered the living room. Summer did her best not to let her opinion of the lackluster living space show in her face and simply continued to smile.

"I'm glad we bought that partition." Dev commented as she set her bags down on the floor. The rest of the apartment opened up, as one room, with a closed door off of the kitchen. "I figured I'd put it over where the bed is, make it look somewhat like an actual bedroom." Summer nodded as she set the bags she held on the small 'dining' table on the side of the room.

"That sounds like a great idea," she continued to smile.

"You hate it." Dev commented as she turned to face her friend.

"What?" Summer blanched, feeling bad that she had been found out. "No, it's great, really," she insisted. "It's very nice and cozy," she added.

"It's dinky." Dev laughed as she shook her head. "I know that, and it's fine if you hate it, believe me, I know I will."

"Well, all the more reason to hang out with us at the garage whenever you can," Summer giggled, finding the silver lining in the situation.

"That, sounds like the best idea you've had today." Dev smiled in reply. Summer threw her head back and laughed.

"Glad you think so," she chuckled. Slowly, the girls unpacked Dev's purchases and began to set them up. The entire process took three hours to fully complete, thanks to distractions and the ordering of pizza.

"Oh my god," Dev softly moaned as she took her first bite of pizza while she and Summer sat cross legged in her living room, the pizza box set between them. "I haven't had pizza in ages," she commented.

"I figured we could both use some." Summer laughed as she bit into her own slice. "This place has the best pizza in the city."

"You could've ordered from the place with the most mediocre pizza in the city, and I'd still be in heaven right now," Dev giggled as she took a sip from her small bottle of soda. Summer had had the foresight to include a few bottles of soda in the order, two to have with dinner, and a few to put in Dev's refrigerator for later.

"Oh trust me, once you're here long enough you'll figure out that this place is seriously the best... Everything else is crap." Summer laughed as she took a swig of her own drink, her eyes glancing out the small window in Dev's apartment.

"Okay, so this is the best pizza place….any other recommendations you'd like to share with my newbie self?" Dev asked with a small giggle.

"Yeah, a few," Summer replied, her thoughts drifting back to the previous night. "Firstly, if Ziggy ever says that he has a good idea and it involves someone named Fresno Bob, walk the other way."

"Uh oh, I sense there's a story behind that," Dev commented.

"Before Ziggy became a ranger, he was involved in a lot of shady stuff." Summer explained. "One of the people he was involved with was Fresno Bob."

"Wow," Dev commented.

"Yeah, he was in it pretty bad until everything got figured out... But he's still a... Different person at times." Summer felt bad for insulting her boyfriend's best friend, but with the same thought, she knew that Ziggy was special in his own way.

"What do you mean different person?" Dev asked as she took the last bite of her first slice of pizza and moved to pick another out of the box.

"He's very... Eccentric, to say the least." Summer explained.

"I see," Dev nodded. She had noticed he seemed a little 'unique' when she had met him and the others the night before, but she wasn't about to judge him too harshly. He had been kind enough to let her have his room for the night.

"You learn to love him." Summer smiled.

"So, tell me about the rest of your friends," Dev curiously commented as she bit into her pizza.

"Oh god," Summer laughed. "We could be here a while!" Dev grinned and shrugged.

"I don't mind," she giggled.

"Hmm, where to start then." Her friend giggled as well.

"What about Scott?" Dev practically blurted out as Summer continued to consider where to start.

"Scott? He's a really nice guy." She began. Dev nodded and waved her free hand to urge her to continue.

"He's a military brat for one." Summer commented. "He's an Air Force pilot with Eagle Squadron... Colonel Truman, his dad, is the leader of the defense forces." Taking a breath, she sighed. "Scott's an only child now. His mom died when he was a baby, and Marcus, his older brother... He was shot down in the original battle against Venjix."

"Oh…" Dev murmured, looking down as she took in Summer's words.

"Yeah... It was really hard for Scott to accept his brother's death... And his dad didn't exactly help matters." She shrugged slightly. "They seem to be doing better now though I guess, with the help of therapy."

"Well, that's good," Dev quietly commented.

"Yeah, it is." Summer gave her a smile as she chewed on the crust of her slice of pizza thoughtfully. "Scott can be a little stubborn and comes off as cold, but he's incredibly loyal to his friends."

"That's a good thing." Dev acknowledged after a momentary pause. Summer nodded and took a bite of her pizza. It took her nearly an hour to tell Dev about all the others, providing stories about each along the way, which gave the new woman a lot to laugh about, and made her feel like one of the group, as opposed to an outsider.

"I hate to do this." Summer commented as she pushed herself off the floor and streched. "But I really should jet and get back to the garage." Dev looked at the clock above her small stove, noticing for the first time they had hung out well into the early evening.

"Oh yeah," she commented, surprised how much time had passed. "No problem," she nodded.

"Do you want me to toss the pizza box outside on my way out?" Summer offered as Dev stood up as well.

"Sure." The shorter woman agreed. "Saves me the trip then."

"Alright then," Summer smiled as she bent down to pick up the box.

"Hey why don't you come to the garage tomorrow after work and we'll have dinner?" She asked as she gathered the box up and folded it in half. Dev smiled at the suggestion and nodded.

"I'd like that, sure," she replied.

"Awesome!" Grinning, Summer leaned forward and engulfed Dev in a half hug. "I'll see you tomorrow then!" Dev laughed as she returned the hug.

"Yup!" She replied. It took Summer another moment before she exited the small apartment, leaving Dev alone for the first time. Dev looked around her tiny abode and sighed sadly before going back to work on organizing her small living space. The organizing didn't take nearly as long as she expected, and before long, she found herself eyeing her new bed with a cautious optimism. It was nearly another hour before Devlyn managed to talk herself into getting ready for bed. She took a long, hot shower and dried her hair slightly before changing into her new sleepwear and carefully slipped under the fresh sheets. She let out a long breath and closed her eyes in an attempt to will sleep to come. As exhaustion began to seep into her bones, and she slowly drifted off, she half wondered if maybe she'd fully-sleep through the night for the first time in five years.

The tension in the garage was evident to Summer the moment she drove Dillon's car into the garage. She climbed out of the car and found Flynn, Gem, Gemma, Ziggy and Scott in the kitchenette area pretending they weren't listening in on the commotion going on elsewhere, their eyes focused on the counter space in front of them and their shoulders tense.

"What's going on?" Summer asked as she approached her friend.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME!" Dillon's agitated voice boomed before any of the others could answer.

"IT'S MY BUSINESS, DILLON, THEREFORE MY CHOICE!" Was Tenaya's equally as agitated response. Summer's face fell, as she had a pretty good idea what had happened.

"They've been at it for around an hour," Gemma quietly stated to Summer.

"K's trying to play ref…but I'm not sure its going so well," Ziggy frowned.

"If it's going at all." Flynn commented, giving Summer a half smile.

"YOUR BUSINESS?" Dillon incredulously shouted. "OH, SILLY ME, HERE I THOUGHT BEING A FAMILY MEANT THIS IS MY BUSINESS TOO!"

"And that makes it four," Scott casually noted.

"Four?" Summer asked.

"This whole conversation's going around in circles," Scott explained. "This is the fourth time Dillon used the 'we're family, it's my business' line or something like it."

"Five, actually," Flynn corrected. "You were in the bathroom when he said 'I'm your brother, you should've told me'," he pointed out.

"Ah... My mistake then." Scott amended with a shrug.

"Six if you count 'how could you confide in Summer, over me your own brother'," Gem commented. Summer's eyebrows rose.

"Dillon knows I knew?" She asked. Gemma gave her a sympathetic look.

"Yeah….and it also came up that….you sort of suggested to Dillon that Dr. K do a check up."

"…Oh no," Summer groaned. She could only imagine how much trouble she was in store for. Dillon would no doubt be upset Summer had kept Tenaya's secret from him for all this time, and Tenaya would be upset that Summer had surreptitiously gone against her wishes.

"It's been fun... Can you tell?" Ziggy stated.

"Perhaps its best if we all just stop before someone says anything they may regret, and continue when we've had a chance to calm down," Dr. K's voice rang out for the first time since Summer had arrived.

"GLADLY!" Tenaya snarled, which was followed by the sound of her stomping footsteps as she came out from Dr. K's lab. "YOU!" She sharply hissed the second she entered the open space of the garage and saw Summer. "How could you!" She growled.

"Tenaya…" Summer sadly commented, hating the anger she saw in Tenaya's gaze. "I'm sorry, I..I thought I was doing the righ-" Tenaya held her hands up to cut her off.

"Save it! I don't want to hear anything you have to say!" She barked before stomping up the stairs. Summer sighed sadly as her eyes drifted shut. She could feel the sting of hot tears prickling behind her eyes. Willing them away, she slowly reopened her eyes. By the time she opened her eyes, Dillon was already exiting the lab with Dr. K slowly emerging behind him.

"Dillon…" Summer began, afraid he was angry at her just as much as Tenaya was.

"Not now, Summer," Dillon replied, his voice tight as he fought to keep it even. Summer closed her mouth, the urge to cry mounting. Behind him, Dr. K carefully brushed past him to join the others in the kitchenette.

"Dillon, mate, listen…if you and Tenaya need help, I-" Flynn began, only to be cut off by Dillon leveling a hard stare his way.

"No offense Flynn, but Tenaya's my sister. We don't need any more interference from any of you," he said, his glare shifting to Summer as he finished his sentence. Before anyone could say anything else, Dillon stormed up to his room. Summer frowned and shook her head to herself and glanced at the others.

"I'll talk to him," she murmured, even though a part of her was dreading anything that would come out of that. She slowly made her way up the stairs and towards the room she now—and still, she hoped—shared with Dillon. She knocked softly on the door. "Dillon, can I come in?" She asked.

"No," was Dillon's reply from the other side of the door. Summer sighed and, disregarding his response and turned the knob, glad to see the door wasn't locked as she walked in. Dillon glanced up at her from his perch on the edge of his-their-bed. "I believe I just said no," he coldly stated.

"Yeah, well, until anyone says otherwise…this is my room too, so I can come in. And you didn't lock the door, so I imagine you weren't too concerned about me coming in," Summer rationalized as she shut the door behind her.

"I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to come in here after what you've done." He shot back, his tone icy and sharp. Summer pressed her lips together in a hard line to stop herself from angrily replying to that. She let out a breath and walked over to the small desk in the room. She pulled the chair out and sat down across from Dillon.

"Alright, you're upset about what's happening to your sister, so I'll let your acts of asshole slide for now," she calmly stated.

"Just like you let the fact that I deserved to know what was happening to my sister slide, huh?" Dillon shot back. Summer clenched her fist and forced herself to take another calming breath.

"Alright, you just tell me when you're ready to have a civilized conversation, Dillon. I'll just be sitting here, waiting," she evenly stated as she sat back in the chair.

"You'll be waiting a while then." He muttered as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside. "I don't want to talk to you." Summer simply tilted her head in a challenging manner, as if to say 'I'm not going anywhere'. Dillon rolled his eyes and stood up from the bed. He barely looked at her as he disappeared inside the bathroom that connected his and Flynn's room. Summer felt herself flinch slightly as she heard him violently slam the door behind him. Summer sighed and slumped in the chair, willing the new stress to sink out of her. The room was quiet for a few minutes before the sound of glass shattering in the bathroom made Summer jump to her feet.

"Dillon?" She called out, quickly moving to the bathroom door. Without a moment's thought, she yanked the door opened to find Dillon standing hunched over the bathroom sink. His right hand clenced the side of the sink, while his left hand lay at his side. His knuckles were bleeding, and the mirror over the sink showed obvious signs of a fist slamming into it. "Dillon…" She murmured.

"Don't." He muttered half-heartedly as she reached for his injured hand.

"You're hurt," Summer gently insisted as she carefully took hold of his wrist.

"What a shock." Came his reply as she stretched his fingers out to assess the damage he'd done to his hand. She picked up a small towel by the sink and turned the faucet on to douse it in warm water to clean his hand.

"Stop being stubborn," Summer sighed as she lifted his hand up and tenderly dabbed at his knuckles.

"I'm not." Dillon snapped as he flinched when she pressed on his knuckles. "I can do it myself," he hissed after a moment as he moved to take the towel from her with his free hand. Summer quickly moved her hand away, keeping the towel from him.

"What's that you said about not being stubborn?" She commented. Dillon simply glared at her in response. Summer sighed and shook her head as she resumed cleaning his hand. "You're not alone, Dillon," she murmured after a moment. "So you can stop acting like you can't turn to anyone for help…when it comes to this, and when it comes to Tenaya."

"You leave my sister out of this," Dillon hissed.

"That's exactly what I mean," Summer sighed. "You act like you're the only one who cares about her, that the two of you only have each other."

"Because its true," Dillon insisted. Summer frowned, incredibly hurt by his words.

"You really believe that?" She quietly asked. "So…what, this past year…I was just some unwanted tag-a-long?" She asked, tears trickling down her cheeks. She tossed the towel into the sink and released his hand before quickly leaving the bathroom as more tears slid down her cheek.

"What?" He commented as he pursued her back into their bedroom. He found Summer slumped on the far side of the bed with her back facing him.

"Sum..." Dillon trailed off as he listened to her sniffle from where she was sitting.

"You really are a thick headed idiot, Dillon," Summer murmured. "I really would've thought that after everything that's happened….the three of us in the wasteland together, all of us working together side by side while you dealt with everything Venjix had put you through…you would've gotten by now that it's not just you against the world," she stated. Dillon fell silent for a few moments after she finished speaking.

"It's not that easy." He murmured in response. "I'm... Not sure _how_ to do anything but that." Summer slowly turned to her other side to look at him.

"That's bull," she plainly stated as she wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. "If that were the case, you never would've accepted me coming with you and Tenaya a year ago. You would've…well, been just as stubborn as you are now, and acted like it was something only you and Tenaya could do together." Dillon frowned and looked down as he shrugged.

"Maybe I thought you'd be stubborn and insist on coming with us," was his excuse. Summer snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Puh-leeze," she replied. "You wanted me to come with you, just as much as I wanted to be with you. So, obviously, you not knowing how to think its all just you, is a load of bull." Dillon opened his mouth, but closed it soon afterwards, realizing that she was, in fact, right. He slowly moved closer and sat on the corner furthest from her as he thought of what else to say.

"Fine, yes…the idea of leaving here without you just…it wasn't something I would ever want to do. But that has nothing to do with my sister. You had no right to act like everything was fine if you knew Tenaya's eye implants were beginning to give out."

"Oh yes, and being stuck in the middle of a goddamn wasteland is the _perfect_ time to tell you that, is it?" Summer shot back angrily. "Well, now I know for next time that if I need to inform you of any earth shattering news, it _must_ be done in the wasteland."

"If I had known, I would've brought her back here sooner!" Dillon shot back. "I would've…I don't know….had K catch the problem early…."

"You knew from the start, before we even packed our things to leave here, that the implants would give out in time and there wasn't anything that could stop it. So, don't act like this is some big shocking surprise," Summer argued.

"But it is." He argued quietly. Summer sighed and shook her head.

"You must've known, deep down, it was going to happen," she quietly pointed out. Dillon looked down.

"I didn't want to think about it," he admitted after a moment. "I just…focused on having my sister back, on being with you, on us helping people….so I didn't give myself a chance to think about the things Dr. K said before we left, about how the implants wouldn't last forever."

"You used everything else as a distraction." Summer stated.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Dillon softly replied. Summer sighed and carefully crawled across the bed until she was perched right beside him.

"I wanted to tell you," she said as she gently rubbed his back. "But I couldn't bring myself to betray Tenaya's confidence. I begged her to tell you herself, but she wouldn't. I thought once we were back here, she'd open up, but that wasn't happening." She sighed again.

"So you thought that by _suggesting_ we talk to K, that maybe she'd tell me?" Dillon questioned, trying to figure out her logic.

"Something like that," Summer sheepishly replied. "Either that or you'd just know once Dr. K checked on the implants, regardless of whether Tenaya told you or not."

"Which is what happened." He muttered with a sigh. He sadly shook his head and rubbed his face with his uninjured hand. "I don't understand why she didn't tell me," he muttered. "I thought this past year...I don't know…I thought we were growing closer, regaining our family bond…but-"

"Dillon," Summer quickly cut in, stopping him from doubting himself and his relationship with his sister. "You did regain that bond," she gently assured him as she shifted closer to him. She placed a hand against his shoulder and rubbed small circles on his skin. "It wasn't that she felt like she didn't trust you, or you two weren't close enough," she continued to assure him. "When I confronted Tenaya about the whole thing last night, she said she didn't want you to know because she didn't want you to feel like you had to give up your life to take care of her."

"What?" Dillon questioned as he glanced up to meet her eyes. Summer shrugged.

"That's what she said," she replied. She shifted even closer to him and wrapped her arms around him, laying her chin on his shoulder. "I tried to tell her that…it's not the just the two of you anymore," she pointedly added, subtly telling Dillon he needed to realize that as well, especially regarding what he had said to Flynn downstairs. "We all care about the both of you. We're here to help in any way we can."

"I know." Came his murmured reply as he leaned against her softly. "I'm sorry." Summer gave him a small smile and lowered her head to place a soft tender kiss on the skin of his shoulder.

"You're forgiven," she replied as she laid her head back down on his shoulder.

"Come on," Summer murmured after a moment. "There's a first aid kit in the bathroom, let me clean out your hand."

"Alright," Dillon agreed. The two climbed off the bed and made their way back to the bathroom. Once inside, Summer made Dillon sit on the toilet seat while she pulled the first aid kit out.

It took her a moment to open it and set everything out that she needed on the counter. She filled a small cup full of warm water and grabbed the washcloth again. Carefully, she knelt in front of his knees and took his hand in hers softly. Dillon simply watched as she carefully continued cleaning the cuts on his knuckles. Once she had finished cleaning off the remainder of the blood, Summer took the tweezers and began to remove the small pieces of glass embedded in his skin. It took her nearly twenty minutes to remove all the bits. Setting the tweezers down, Summer reached for the peroxide and poured some onto the cloth she had been using and gently began to dab at his knuckles.

"Sorry if it stings a little," she commented as she worked on tending to his wounds.

"It's okay." He gritted out as he clenched his teeth. Summer gave him a sympathetic look and continued cleaning his cuts a little quicker to have it over with sooner.

"Okay, done." She commented softly a few moments later. "Let me just dry it and then put some antiseptic cream on before I wrap it for the night." Dillon simply nodded in response. Summer grabbed a fresh hand towel and patted his hand dry, careful not to pat too much too close to his wounds to not wipe away the peroxide. Once his hand was dry enough, she picked up a small tube of cream. Spreading it onto a small piece of toilet paper, she dabbed around the wound before grabbing the bandages out of the first aid kit. She wrapped his knuckles with the gauzy material and tore off a piece of white surgical tape to secure the binding.

"There." She murmured softly as she ran her thumb over the bandage. "All better."

"Thanks," Dillon softly replied.

"You're welcome." Summer smiled as she stood up. "Come on... I don't know about you, but I could use some cuddling." Dillon let out a small breath of a chuckle and nodded.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," he replied as he stood up as well.

"Glad you agree." She giggled as she pulled him towards their bedroom. Dillon chuckled again and wrapped his arms around her to pull her into a gentle kiss. With a smile, she leaned against him and gave him a half hug, letting her hand rest above his heart on his bare chest. Dillon rested his head on the top of hers and placed a kiss on her hairline.

"Thank you, for being there for Tenaya all this time," he quietly commented. "As much as I wish she could've told me about what was going on…I'm glad she had you to confide in."

"You don't need to thank me." Summer replied as a brush moved up her neck. "I would have done it anyway." Dillon smiled softly and nodded.

"I know," he murmured, holding her closer for a moment. "But thanks anyway," he added.

"You're welcome." She smiled. She glanced up at Dillon and saw him gazing down at her with a look that suggested he wanted to say something else. "What?" She softly asked. Dillon opened his mouth, then closed it a moment later a small smile forming on his lips instead.

"Nothing," he replied. He ducked down and placed one more kiss on her forehead. "Just feeling tired," he replied.

"Oh," Summer replied, accepting his words at face value. She tenderly stroked his chest. "Well then, why don't you finish getting ready for bed? I just remembered I left some shopping bags in your car, I'm just going to run down and bring them up here."

"Sure, I'll be here." He promised with a soft smile. Summer returned the smile and gave him a quick peck on the lips before she moved away from him. She left the room and descended the stairs to make her way towards the garage.

"Everything alright up there?" She heard Flynn's distinct voice ask the moment she reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked over to the side of the garage that served as Flynn's work space and saw him standing by his work bench, a myriad of tools in front of him. Summer nodded and walked over to him, noticing the others had cleared off and gone elsewhere while she had been with Dillon.

"Yeah, well, with Dillon at least," Summer replied as she came to a stop beside Flynn. He nodded.

"I'm sure things with Tenaya will be okay," Flynn commented, picking up on Summer's unvoiced concerns. Summer blew out a breath and shook her head.

"I hope so," she replied, "but I'm not holding my breath on her talking to me in the immediate future. She has every right to be angry with me," Summer commented. Flynn reached over and gently patted his friend's shoulder.

"You did the right thing," he assured her. "She'll forgive you in time, I know it."

"Thanks Flynn," Summer smiled. Flynn nodded and took his hand off of her to idly work with the materials in front of him. Summer stood by and watched him for a moment before speaking again. "What was it you wanted to say to Dillon?" She asked. Flynn looked up at her blankly for a moment as he tried to remember what she was talking about. He blinked a few times before a look of comprehension crossed his face.

"Oh, right, that," he said with a nod. He paused a moment, lightly scratching the back of his neck with the wrench in his hand. "Well," he continued, "I was just thinking….I mean, Tenaya's eyesight's going to go, right?"

"Yes," Summer slowly replied, urging him to continue.

"And, she and Dillon don't exactly remember everything from their lives before Venjix, correct?" Flynn went on.

"I haven't really thought about that, but…yeah, I guess you're right," Summer nodded. Flynn nodded as well and shrugged.

"So, its safe to assume that Tenaya might not remember being blind? You know, the routines or whatever she might've had to go about her day." Summer stared at him blankly, not sure what he was getting at.

"I….guess?" She replied. "What's your point, here, exactly?" Summer asked, wanting to cut to the chase.

"Ian," Flynn plainly stated.

"Ian?" Summer repeated. She searched her memory for a moment, trying to figure out why that name seemed familiar. "Your friend,, Ian?" She asked.

"Aye," Flynn replied with a nod.

"Okay…" Summer commented. "What about Ian?" She asked. Flynn chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"He could help her," he replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I mean…that is what he does….works in therapy…especially with the blind. Man teaches Braille and everything," he said. Summer blinked as his words finally jogged her memory. She had only met Ian a few times, but she did remember thinking it was very noble of him to help people the way he did. After the initial attacks by Venjix's army, many recruits in Corinth's armed forces had suffered injuries to their eyes from crashes and being too close to blast sites. Ian had worked with the survivors and helped them get acclimated to their condition. He had also worked with those who had lost their sight due to illnesses, or children who had been born blind and had gotten to the age of needing to learn Braille and other important things.

"Right," Summer said. "I didn't even think of that," Summer murmured. Tenaya's words from the previous night, about having to depend solely on Dillon came back to Summer. If Tenaya was taught and helped to learn how to live with her blindness, there was a possibility that she could still maintain some of her independence. Summer had certainly seen it with other people in the city. People who had thought they would be unable to function on their own, were managing to live on their every day life with only minor limitations after some months under Ian's tutelage.

"It might be something to at least consider." Flynn shrugged.

"Yeah, you're right," she replied with a nod. She sighed after a moment and tilted her head slightly. "I think Dillon might still be on edge about all this…and, as much as he seems to understand that we're all here for him and Tenaya….I have a feeling he's still going to be stubborn and insist he can take care of her by himself."

"So, what, just forget it?" Flynn asked with a frown.

"No," Summer quickly replied. "Just…we'll have to be careful with how we bring the subject up with him," she continued. "I'll think of something," she added with a resolute nod.

"Alright... Just let me know." He replied with a smile. Summer returned the smile.

"Will do," she replied. "Well, I better go. I told Dillon I was just coming down to get some bags out of his car."

"Sure lass, have a good night." Came his response.

"You too, Flynn," Summer smiled as she walked across the garage to Dillon's car and opened up the trunk. She grabbed her bags, closed the trunk and headed back towards the stairs. She walked into the bedroom and found Dillon already in bed, sitting up against his elbow as he waited for her.

"Did you buy the whole store?" He teased her with a smile as he eyed the bags in her hands. Summer giggled as she set the bags down by the dresser to deal with them in the morning.

"Almost, there were a few things that just weren't my style," she joked right back as she toed her shoes off.

"Well, I guess that's bound to happen occasionally." Dillon chuckled as she pulled her socks off next. Summer rolled her eyes and chuckled as she pulled a pair of satin pajamas from one of the shopping bags.

"Oh those are new." He commented as she pushed her jeans off her hips.

"Yup," Summer smiled as she pulled the yellow satin pants on.

"Very nice." Dillon murmured appreciatively as she turned away from him and pulled her top off.

"Thank you," Summer smiled as she let her shirt drop to the floor and reached back to unhook her bra. Dillon groaned as he closed his eyes to give her a little more privacy. "Something wrong?" Summer asked as she let the straps slide off her shoulder as the bra tumbled down to the floor.

"No." Came his response as she pulled the tank top on and let the soft material glide over her skin.

"Okay," Summer replied as she turned back towards the bed.

"Well if there's nothing wrong, why did you close your eyes?" She giggled as she looked at him. Dillon slowly opened his eyes and looked at her.

"Uh, just thinking," he replied.

"Uh huh, likely story." Smiling, Summer knelt on the bed and leaned over to kiss him softly. Dillon smiled and wrapped his arms around her. Carefully, she inched down next to him before snuggling close to his body with a content sigh. Dillon drew the covers back and brought them back over her before pulling her closer to his side. With a smile, Summer's arm moved across his stomach, her hand coming to a rest over his heart. Dillon smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Other then the Tenaya incident... Did you have a good day?" Summer asked softly as she drew patterns over his skin using her index finger.

"It was okay," Dillon replied. "I missed you, though," he added.

Blushing, she ducked her head into his chest. "I missed you too." She murmured after a moment.

"Did you have a good day hanging out with Dev?" Dillon asked as his hands idly rubbed her back.

"Yeah, it was fun." Summer sighed softly. "Well... At least I had fun anyway."

"What do you mean?" Dillon asked.

"Dev didn't seem to be all that interested." Came the reply as she lifted her head to meet his gaze. "Girls normally show each other their outfits, get compliments , criticism, thoughts... All that fun stuff... Dev never came out of her change room and just generally seemed like there was some place else she'd rather be."

"Maybe she was feeling overwhelmed," Dillon offered with a small shrug. "New city, new living space, not to mention this was probably her first time shopping to this scale in a very long time."

"You might be right." She nodded slowly after a few moments of thought.

"Of course I am." Dillon grinned as he poked her side gently. "Glad to see that you agree." Summer giggled and playfully hit his chest.

"You're so full of it." She commented around another giggle.

"I'm sure you'll keep me anyway." He laughed as he squeezed her affectionately.

"Oh, I guess I will," Summer said with a faux weary sigh.

"Anyway," Dillon yawned. "I think it's time for some sleep, don't you?" Summer nodded against his chest and yawned quietly.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Go to sleep gorgeous." Came his murmur as he pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. Summer smiled and snuggled deeper into his embrace. It took Summer a few moments to drift to sleep. Dillon held her closer and placed another kiss on the top of her head before settling in and drifting off to sleep as well.

It was late the next day when Summer and Dev walked back into the Garage, chatting about the shorter woman's first day on the job.

"So you're enjoying it at least?" Summer question as they dropped down on the couch in the empty garage.

"It's not bad," Dev replied with a small shrug.

"You don't sound that happy." Summer stated. Dev simply shrugged again.

"No, its fine," Dev replied. "Sorry, guess I'm a little tired," she added.

"That's okay." Summer replied with a smile. She had noted that Dev looked a little more tired than normal, but chose not to say anything.

"Hey, I didn't realize you were back already." Dillon commented as he walked down the stairs into the main part of the building.

"Hey," Summer smiled as she looked up at him.

"Hi." Leaning down, he kissed her softly before waving at Dev. "Have you guys eaten dinner yet?"

"No," Summer replied.

"Well, I'm thinking of making dinner, you guys interested in having some?" Dillon asked as he moved towards the kitchen.

"Sure," Dev replied.

"Do you want any help?" Summer asked.

"Nah, I'm good," Dillon replied. "You guys just sit and relax," he smiled.

"We'll put a movie on then." She smiled. "At least then you have something to watch while you make us food." Giggling, she stood and moved towards the bookshelf where the movies were.

"Gee, thanks," Dillon laughed. Dev chuckled and looked around the base.

"Where are the others?" She curiously asked. Dillon sighed as he began taking things out to cook.

"Tenaya's locked up in her room," he commented in a weary tone that suggested she'd mostly been unseen all day.

"Still no change from yesterday?" Summer asked sadly, and Dillon nodded in response.

"She's only come out at breakfast and lunch time, just long enough to come down and get a plate, then go back to her room," Dillon replied.

"Maybe she just needs some more time." Dev commented softly. Dillon looked up, surprised she knew what had gone on. Summer caught the look and bit her lip.

"Sorry, I told her what happened…" She carefully said, worried that he'd be upset by that.

"Oh," Dillon replied. Instead of being upset or reacting to the fact that Dev knew what was happening to Tenaya, he just shrugged and continued on with the conversation. "Maybe, but that doesn't change the fact that I wish she'd at least talk to me," Dillon replied.

"Just give her a few more days." Dev commented, turning slightly to face him. "She's probably trying to process everything before she moves forward."

"A few days?" Dillon frowned. "I was kind of hoping it'd just be a few more hours."

"It's probably going to be a few days." Dev replied sadly. "I know that you wish it wasn't... But..." Dillon shrugged her comment off as he started pulling food out of the fridge.

"I guess it could be worse." He stated. He sighed and continued preparing dinner. The trio lapsed into silence as Summer popped a DVD into the player and settled back on the couch. Within the first half hour of the movie, Dev curled up on the couch and drifted to sleep.

Scott walked in shortly after Dev had drifted to sleep and pulled his jacket off as he stopped.

"Uh, hi." He commented to the two members still awake in the room.

"Hey," Summer quietly replied. Dillon nodding as he continued to cook the food he had on the stove.

"Where've you been?" Summer asked, turning slightly to face them both, keeping her voice quiet as to not disturb Dev.

"Therapy with my Dad." Scott muttered as he flopped down on the couch next to Summer.

"Oh? How'd it go?" Summer asked.

"Same shit, different day." Came his reply with a shrug. "As much as I love my dad... This is like pulling teeth to try and 'be a family." Rolling his eyes, Scott sighed. "We haven't been a family for a very long time."

"I thought you said things were going better with him," Summer commented, thinking back to what he had said the night she and the others had arrived.

"They are in some aspects." Scott commented. "The therapist wants us to start talking about Marcus... And mom..."

"Oh.." Summer replied.

"Yeah." Giving another shrug, Scott looked at her. "Dad still blames me... So yeah..."

"Blames you?" Dillon questioned as he jumped in. "For what?"

"For Marcus…" Scott replied, his voice trailing off into a sigh. Reaching over slightly, Summer squeezed his hand gently. "At least he's stopped blaming me for mom." He commented, giving her a half-hearted smile.

"Why would he blame you for that?" Summer softly asked.

"I never told you?" He questioned, tilting his head slightly. "When I was 13, I feel out of a tree and busted my leg pretty bad. My mom was the only one home; Marcus was at a friends, and Dad was working, so she drove me to the hospital..." Scott sighed and ran his hands over his face. "It was really late and dark out... She was going through an intersection on a green light and was t-boned by a drunk driver, killing her instantly."

"Oh Scott…" Summer quietly said. "I didn't know…."

"Nobody did." He replied with a shrug. "I honestly don't remember much of the accident; Only what I was told a few weeks later." Summer squeezed his hand again as he fell silent. "Dad blamed me for the longest time after that... Saying that I shouldn't have climbed the tree, or that we should have called 911..." Scott shrugged once more. "Doesn't bring her back." Summer looked at him sadly and pulled him into a comforting hug. "Thanks." He commented, returning the hug. "Oh... Dev's here."

"Yeah," Summer nodded.

"And awake too." Dillon pointed out as the woman in question began to stir. It took Dev a few moments to come to and fully wake up.

"Oh... Hi Scott." She commented softly.

"Hey," he quietly replied.

"Dinner's almost ready." Dillon commented, breaking the conversation. "There's probably enough left over if you want some too Scott."

"Oh, thanks," Scott replied. It didn't take long for Dillon to scoop out the food onto four plates.

"Alright, come grab it!" He called as he put the frying pan into the sink and rinsed it out. The other three stood up and made their way to the kitchen. They each took a plate and moved back towards the couches. Summer and Dillon curled up on the one that Summer had previously occupied, while Dev and Scott sank into the second one. Silence fell over the group as they began to eat their food. It didn't take them long to finish eating, and shortly after they had disposed of their plates, the movie ended as well.

"Should we put another one in?" Dillon asked from his position, leaning against the armrest of the couch, Summer nestled against him.

"Sure," Scott shrugged.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Dev agreed with a smile. "What about a scary movie?"

"Sounds good," Dillon nodded.

"I'll put it in." Summer commented as she moved from Dillon's arms and set about pulling the first DVD out and replacing it with a new one. Once the new dvd was in, she walked back to the couch and settled back into Dillon's arms. By the time the credits began to roll, the group was asleep on the couches. Dev had shifted slightly once she drifted to sleep, leaning her head against Scott's shoulder. Shifting slightly, Scott woke himself up a short while later, noting that the remaining members in the room were all asleep.

He was pleasantly surprised to see that Dev was sleeping soundly against his shoulder. His heart flipped slightly in his chest as she shifted closer to him. He stared at her for a moment, watching her as she slept deeply. After watching her for a while, she began to stir slightly. Scott swallowed thickly and quickly looked away, not wanting Dev to wake up and see he had been watching her sleep. Blinking, Dev slowly opened her eyes and glanced around to figure out where she was. After she established that he was in the garage, her breath caught in her throat as she realized she had fallen asleep on Scott, again. Blushing, she removed her head from his shoulder.

"Hi." She murmured softly. Scott slowly looked over nonchalantly.

"Hey," he replied.

"I keep falling asleep on you." Dev stated carefully as the blush spread across her face. "Sorry about that." Came her nervous chuckle.

"Uh…it's okay," Scott awkwardly replied, unsure what else to say.

"What time is it?" She questioned. Scott peered ahead of them to the neon time display over the dvd player.

"9:30," he replied.

"I should head home." Dev sighed as she ran her hands over her face.

"Oh," Scott replied.

"I have to work tomorrow." Came her mumbled reply. "God that sounds lame." She giggled.

"Could be worse." Scott laughed, his heart flipping in his chest again as he heard her giggle. "Do you want me to walk you home?" Dev looked at him and smiled.

"That would be nice," she softly replied.

"Let me just grab my keys and we can do.. Okay?" He stated, shocked that she had agreed.

"Okay," she nodded.

Within a few moments, Scott had returned to the main room in the garage, his leather jacket slung over his arm. Wordlessly, he handed it to Dev. "It's cold outside."

Dev slowly stood up and numbly took the jacket. "Oh….uh….thank you," she stammered.

"You're welcome." He murmured softly as she stood there and held the jacket. Without thinking, he took it from her hands and moved behind her. "Hold your arms out." Scott commented his voice no louder than a whisper. Dev let out a shaky breath and nodded slightly as she did as Scott said. Ever so carefully, he slipped the cool leather over her right arm, before doing the same with the left, and then settling the jacket on her shoulders. His hands lingered on her shoulders for a few seconds longer than necessary, allowing Dev to close her eyes and sigh softly. Slowly, Scott pulled his hands off her shoulders and forced himself to take a deep breath. "We should head out." He murmured softly.

"Okay," Dev murmured. Moving in front of her, Scott held out his arm for her to take. Dev smiled softly and slowly slid her arm around his.

"Shall we?" He grinned at her.

"I guess we shall," Dev giggled. Continuing to smile, Scott began to lead her from the garage. Dev giggled lightly and walked with him, her strides making her lean into his side ever so slightly. On the trip back to her apartment, Scott regaled Dev with stories of incidents that had happened during his stint as a ranger, keeping most of them humorous. By the time they reached her front door, Dev was practically slumped against Scott, because she had been laughing so hard.

"Well, here we are," Scott commented in between a round of his own laughter.

"Yeah." Dev commented between giggles, sad that they had reached their destination so quickly. "I should…give this back to you," Dev commented as she slipped the jacket off of her shoulders.

"No, it's okay." Scott shook his head as she moved to hand it back to him. "It's gonna be winter soon, so keep it."

"Are you sure?" Dev asked, shocked by his generosity. "I mean…what are you going to use, in the winter?"

Scott shrugged. "I'll figure it out." He murmured softly.

"Oh," Dev breathed out. "You don't have to do that." She whispered, a blush creeping across her face.

"It's okay," Scott softly insisted.

"Thank you." Came the response as she glanced at the floor.

"No problem," he replied with a small half smile. Slowly, Dev rolled up onto her tip toes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Night Scott." She breathed softly.

"Night." He stammered out as his breath caught in his throat. Dev slowly stepped away and gave him one last small smile before she opened her door and disappeared inside.


End file.
